Fallout Equestria: Blood and Pancakes (IC)

[Pokonic]

Once, there was a city.

This city's foundations was not said to be based on rock or mortar, but on unity.

Once, the inhabitants of this city sought to be kind, filled with laughter, generous in their dealings, honest in all respects, and loyal to their kin and friends.

The inhabitants of this city believed that, if they all worked together, in harmony, they could achieve great things that they could not accomplish alone.

The inhabitants of this city once thought that they could achieve a peaceful society in the midst of a war. They once believed that their idealism was superior to the wartime mentality that had taken hold in the south.

But they are much wiser now.


.........

It is that time of the year when Fall is in full swing, and the land is as grey as the clouds.

Six ponies of no small importance had decided to travel with Karen's Caravan's, a moderately powerful family-owned company based in Tauronto primarily by donkey's. Karen's main stop in the city is in the suburbs, in what was once known as Humblewood, now known as Humble.

Humble is a small town mostly known existing out of a few large houses formerly belonging to a gentrified few and having running water, electricity, and food, and is rather notable for it's many inhabitants being unaware of the irony of their name when they ask for large amounts of caps to allow others to use their facilities.

The six ponies on the caravan end up being allowed the usage of a crumbling bar with a gas lamp for lighting to spend the night in, because say what you will about !!canadian!! ponies, if they not nice.

It is within this rain-rotten place, all creaking wood and rusty metal, a singular light the only illumination in the dark night, with six ponies with six old futons being the only living creatures around, where out story starts.

(OOC thread link) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=332803)

[DigoDragon]

"Well, any roof over out head," Doc mused, "Though I'm not sure what's holding it up. He walks over to one of the futons and sets his things down on the cushion.

[Pokonic]

"Well, any roof over out head," Doc mused, "Though I'm not sure what's holding it up. He walks over to one of the futons and sets his things down on the cushion.

The building's outside was pretty shabby, slightly moreso than the other one hundred and eighty year old buildings around it. The interior seemed to have had several fungal infestations and a bad case of brawling over it's lifetime and the ceiling was a greyish color that probably wasn't especially good to associate with wood with. The building was probably holding together through pre-war earth pony construction and post-war hope.

[Mechanix]

"This is great! We're on an adventure! I get to sleep in abandoned buildings and stuff! I love this!"

Apparently the state of their accomodations failed to deter Jinx from finding the good aspects of their situation. Or, more accurately, making good aspects up.

"I call dibs on this bed!" She leaped, crashed on the futon which could only be called 'bed' by some criminally inaccurate exaggeration, and put her head over her hooves, stretching, before shrugging off her battle saddle and rolling on the ground. "Ooooh! This was a bar, right? Maybe there are some drinks or snacks left somewhere!" Without waiting for an answer, she hopped off the mattress and started searching everywhere, oblivious to the fact that the bar was in the middle of a town and would have been scavenged ages ago.

[Pokonic]

"This is great! We're on an adventure! I get to sleep in abandoned buildings and stuff! I love this!"

Apparently the state of their accomodations failed to deter Jinx from finding the good aspects of their situation. Or, more accurately, making good aspects up.

"I call dibs on this bed!" She leaped, crashed on the futon which could only be called 'bed' by some criminally inaccurate exaggeration, and put her head over her hooves, stretching, before shrugging off her battle saddle and rolling on the ground. "Ooooh! This was a bar, right? Maybe there are some drinks or snacks left somewhere!" Without waiting for an answer, she hopped off the mattress and started searching everywhere, oblivious to the fact that the bar was in the middle of a town and would have been scavenged ages ago.

There was nothing worth taking in the bar. In some places, a sturdy chair or table could fetch a decent price, even, but every object in the bar was as defunct as the bar itself. Wood came off under hooves and chair legs wobbled when prodded. There wasn't so much as a bit coin anywhere. Jinx's battle saddle was probably worth more than the building and everything in it that wasn't on the back of a living, breathing pony.

While the bar is a 'starter area', actions like this one should have rolls in the appropriate skill set in spoilers.

[RCgothic]

Stellar prods one of the futons suspiciously with a forehoof. Even by wasteland standards this is rank. "Do you think they'd let me drag a cloud or two in here? It's not as if this place could get any mouldier. At least two of us don't have to sleep on these things." She glances at the other pegasus pony in the group. She'd been surprised to find out Joyous Noise was a ghoul - so well preserved! Stellar mean to ask her about that later. It had made her heart break that the wasteland could treat so indubitably fine a pony as Joyous Noise in such a manner.

[Pokonic]

I prod one of the futons suspiciously with a forehoof. Even by wasteland standards this is rank. "Do you think they'd let me drag a cloud or two in here? It's not as if this place could get any mouldier. At least two of us don't have to sleep on these things." I glance at the other pegasus pony in the group. I'd been surprised to find out she was a ghoul - so well preserved! I mean to ask her about that later. It had made my heart break that the wasteland could treat so indubitably fine a pony as Joyous Noise in such a manner.

The futons didn't make a squishy noise when touched, unlike most of the things in room, and were clean enough to count as decent bedding, if quite worn. But, what wasn't in the wasteland?

Third person is encouraged for IC posts, RCgothic but if you prefer to use first person it's fine with me.

[Forum Explorer]

If you can get the Enclave to part with a cloud or two then go for it. Nopony down here will mind a little more wear and tear on this old ruin. Plus it'd be really cool to touch a cloud. Supply Routes says before pulling a bedroll out with her teeth and setting it up on a futon. So what bring the rest of you to Tauranto? Trade, work, adventure, or something else?

[Mechanix]

"Isn't it obvious? Science!" Jinx yells from behind a crumbled, rotten desk, before triumphantly pulling out a chair leg she holds between her teeth and mumbling something incomprehensible - then spitting out the leg. "That's good, solid wood! I'm sure I can do something with-" as she pokes it with her hoof, the leg breaks in two. "...oh well, never mind. Anyway, science! I heard about the Celestia National Tower, and I want to visit it. Even if it has been scavenged before, I am sure people must have missed some things of use, and even if not, it is still a pre-war wonder that deserves to be studied!"

[DigoDragon]

"As long as there's war, there will be a need for doctors. I'm simply sharing my talents with those in need," Doc replied. He looked up and wrinkled his nose. "Though just about everything in this land could use a little TLC. Hopefully one day."

[RCgothic]

"The Celestia National Tower?" Stellar asks, taken aback. "You don't want to go there, believe me. Reaver territory," she states plainly, as though that should explain everything.

"You're interested in Science though?" She steps closer to Jinx, wings outstretched eagerly. "Me too! That's actually why I was in Manehattan! I heard they might have some interesting stuff in Tenpony Tower but nopony would even speak to me, let alone let me in. I'm from around here originally, I'm just heading home now. But even making two long trips across the wastes was safer than trying to get a tour of The Celestia National Tower, trust me!"

[Colonel Fedora]

Joyous Noise regarded the decaying building sourly.

"Was architecture itself destroyed along with Equestria? A hut made of sod would be better than this rusty deathtrap."

Under better circumstances, she would have been curious as to how the light worked. As it was though, she simply laid down in an unoccupied corner.

The last few months had been exciting, if not exactly pleasant.

[Ravian]

Chiseled took in the room in relative silence. Despite its damaged state it was still interesting whenever he went into these dwellings. No matter how worn down they had somehow survived the bombs intact... well somewhat intact. It reminded him of old bones, like an old manticore's skeleton. Once it had been a proud beast, and even in its death it had left a striking legacy.

These other ponies though were... odd, they were so talkative, especially the Red earth pony mare with the strange device on her back. Still they seemed friendly enough, and it would be rude to not be courteous.

Chiseled suddenly became aware of the question the unicorn had asked, he pondered a bit before answering, knowing he was cursed might prove uneasy for them, but it seemed wrong to not give them fair warning. He decided he would give warn them but avoid drawing attention to the subject.

I am traveling to redeem myself in the eyes of the light. he then added in his most serious tone I also wish to apologize in advance to the mares present, should you feel uncomfortable or strange around me only ask and I will try to spare you from my presence.

[Forum Explorer]

Cheer up Noise, we've stayed in worse places then this before. At least this place isn't a radroach den. Supply Route says with a laugh.

[Colonel Fedora]

Joyous Noise gave Chiseled Jaw an odd look and decided not to respond. What a strange pony he was.

She was less shy with Supply Route.

"Don't remind of that again. My skin still crawls when I hear chittering."

She hadn't gotten a lot of sleep that night. Celestia-damned radroaches.

[DigoDragon]

"Something wrong with your presence?" Doc asked Chiseled.

[RCgothic]

Stellar glances to Jinx, Supply Route and Joyous Noise for their reactions to Chiselled's rather odd comment. Sure, he's easy on the eyes, but let's not get carried away. Seeing Joyous curl up into a corner reminds Stellar what she was about supposed to be doing and she launches herself into the air with a few easy flaps of her long wings. "Be right back."

With little further ado, Stellar swoops out of the door. A few minutes later she returns pushing two small, light, fluffy clouds, one of which she nudges towards the ghoul-pegasus. "Here, no reason we can't be comfortable. Being off the floor should help if there are any radroaches herebouts too."

[Colonel Fedora]

Joyous Noise was surprised by this gesture. She smiled at the other pegasus and clambered onto a cloud.

"I'm glad that courtesy, at least, isn't dead."

[DigoDragon]

Doc sat down on a futon and leaned back. "Well, think you two can squeeze some water out of those in the morning?" he asked the pegasi.

[Ravian]

"Something wrong with your presence?" Doc asked Chiseled.

Chiseled was quiet for a moment, the curse had not appeared to affect other stallions, so it might be safe to inform him of his fears. Of course it was probably unwise to tell too much to ruin-dwellers, his elders had warned that they were often intolerant of traditions.

He looked about to ensure that the mares were not listening before gesturing the other stallion to come closer.

Mares often behave strangely when I am near. he whispered once the Earth pony was close I do not wish for them to come to harm because of my presence.

Once this information had been shared, he smiled and extended his hoof in greeting. I am called Chiseled Jaw. Tell me, what is a doctor? I have heard this term used but am not sure I understand. Are you a warrior of some sort?

[DigoDragon]

I am called Chiseled Jaw. Tell me, what is a doctor? I have heard this term used but am not sure I understand. Are you a warrior of some sort?

Doc chuckled. "Well, if by warrior, you mean I hoof-wrestle Death over who gets the next pony, sure, you can call it that. Sounds more interesting anyway." He sat up on the futon.

"Name's Doc Wagon, or just Doc by most folks. Not much of a fighter, but I can handle a gun. Pretty much a necessity out in the wastes... but by profession, I patch wounded ponies together with medical science. That's ideally what a doctor should be."

[Mechanix]

"The Celestia National Tower?" Stellar asks, taken aback. "You don't want to go there, believe me. Reaver territory," she states plainly, as though that should explain everything.
"Reavers? But that's terrible! Wait, I have no idea what Reavers are. Well, no matter! I'm sure I'll be able to explain things properly to them, and they will let me do my work. It is important work, after all!" Jinx throws quick glances around, then looks, amazed, at one of the clouds being pulled by the pegasus into the room; before Stellar could take place on her own cloud, the young earth pony jumped in the air to take her place, yelling enthusiastically.

And crashing to the ground, having passed right through the cloud. "Ouch! ...that's not fair. I want a cloud bed too! Hmmm... Perhaps now..." Grabbing the two futons that the pegasi had no need for by the teeth, she piled them together into a triple-size mattress. "Tada! Now I'm going to sleep better."

[Pokonic]

Outside, the wind audibly begins to pick up, and a bit of chill starts to seep though the various holes in the walls. The building creaks a little every little while.

[Colonel Fedora]

"So... are we gonna do something about the draft or what?"

Few things bothered Joyous Noise more than problems she knew should have been fixed years ago.

So what would I roll to look for stuff to cover up the drafts with? Or would I just skip to making a mechanics roll?

[DigoDragon]

"So... are we gonna do something about the draft or what?"

"Well, once the war ends..." Doc said with a slight smirk. He then stood up to be a little more serious. "I'll help if you have a way of putting up some paneling."

[Colonel Fedora]

Joyous Noise smiled. This was more her element than dealing with monsters and raiders.

"I have gaff tape. We just need something to use it with."

[Pokonic]

The constant sound of the wind buffeting the structure was interrupted for a few moments by a stern knocking at the door.

"If you please, would you accept a visitor to this humble abode?" a odd whispery voice called out, sounding as if he, and it was probably a he, was trying to be heard over the wind and overestimating it's volume.



So what would I roll to look for stuff to cover up the drafts with? Or would I just skip to making a mechanics roll?

It would be a Perception check to find stuff to cover it up (very easy) and could be solved either by Survival ('So yah put that wooden beam right there'.) or by a even easier Mechanic check if one managed to use some tape.

[Forum Explorer]

I'll admit you're a bit of a looker but don't worry I'm a professional and I never have lost control of myself yet. Supply Route says giving Chiseled a look over with her eyes.

Come on in stranger! I'm not the sort to deny a pony shelter on a cold night like tonight. But if you try to start trouble I won't hesitate to end it. Understand?

[Colonel Fedora]

The constant sound of the wind buffeting the structure was interrupted for a few moments by a stern knocking at the door.

"If you please, would you accept a visitor to this humble abode?" a odd whispery voice called out, sounding as if he or, quite possibly she, was trying to be heard over the wind and overestimating it's volume.



It would be a Perception check to find stuff to cover it up (very easy) and could be solved either by Survival ('So yah put that wooden beam right there'.) or by a even easier Mechanic check if one managed to use some tape.

"Come right in! We were just fixing up the place a little." she said whilst rummaging around for useful items.

I rolled a 7 for the SPECIAL check, which should be enough with the +3 bonus. And I rolled a 57 for the Mechanics roll. Success!

[DigoDragon]

Doc makes himself useful by helping hold up the rummaged junk while it gets taped up.

[Pokonic]

The visitor at the door opened it slowly, and ducked to enter the room.

There was a lot of the visitor, actually.

It was easily twice as tall as any of the stallions in the room and wore a huge black robe of sorts that probably had more in common with a tarp than anything else. The robe touched the floor and was soaked to the bone, but, more ominously, hide the visitors face. From what little light the tiny lamp in the middle of the room gave out, it was plane to see that the visitor's body bulged in odd ways under the robe. It's huge back was obscured from sight by a large bundle of bags tied together with rope, ranging from several small bags and up to and including what looked like a pony-sized wooden barrel.

"Ah, thank you, little ones!" the figure creaked out as it moved in wide steps towards the fire.

[DigoDragon]

"So, what do we call you, stranger?" Doc asked friendly-like.

[Forum Explorer]

And what's your story? Supply Route says, smiling.

[Mechanix]

"And what's in those bags of yours? Do you trade? Oh I hope you trade! I was just thinking of a new design for... oh but wait, I don't have any money left." From atop her tower of futons, Jinx proceeds to pout.

[Colonel Fedora]

Joyous Noise couldn't help but stare a little at the strange... pony? It was hard to judge though, considering that she was an undead abomination kept 'alive' by necromantic backwash.

"Hopefully the room should be bit warmer now that we've plugged up the drafts."

[Pokonic]

The big figure got as close to the fire as it could without bumping into any of the ponies and folded it's legs under its body as it laid down.

"Oh, little ponies, no need to apologize for the draft. I cannot feel it myself." the big figure said, sounding joyful. "My name is Addawsa, and I cannot say I have a story to tell. I am a merchant, and one who has tried to keep away from the sort of things that make good stories."

Addawsa let out a wheezy laugh at his own words, and shifted it's cloaked head over to Jinx's general direction. His head was still hard to see.

"Oh, I wouldn't be a trader if I didn't do a bit a bit of trading. I do see you have a saddle there, as well as a Pip Buck. As you do not seem to have any currency on you, I would be happy to give you anything you would wish from my own supplies for the latter."

[Forum Explorer]

A merchant? Do you work the caravans or a city? My parents were caravan folk and they saw some very strange things on their routes.

[Pokonic]

"Oh, I stay in the city, going from town to town, trading when I see fit. Tauronto is a very safe place if one wishes to be, and I have taken full advantage of it. There are few monsters here then most parts of this land, or so I have been told. While I have seen the claws of a hellhound and the head of a bear, I am quite happy to say that I have never seen them alive."

Addawsa paused.

"Oh, would it rude of me to ask your name, little pony?"

[Forum Explorer]

Oh, my apologies for not introducing myself. My name is Supply Route.

[Colonel Fedora]

"And I'm Joyous Noise, formerly of the Tauranto Public Theatre." her voice lost a bit of its brightness on 'formerly'.

[DigoDragon]

"Names Doc," he said as he sat back down on his futon.

[Pokonic]

Addawsa seemed to bob his head slightly after each pony finished what they were saying, but after the good doctor finished speaking his hidden head suddenly wavered over to Joyous Noise.

"Oh!" he said, sounding surprised, "I did not see that you were ghoulish. I could only wonder what you must have looked like when you were alive."

[Colonel Fedora]

"Uh... thanks, I guess." she said, trying to sound thankful for the compliment.

She thought for a moment.

"Actually, I think I have a picture of myself before... this."

She knew very well that she had an old picture of both herself and many of her friends. She often spent nights looking at it and reminiscing. Sleep had not come easy since she had been ghoulified.

[Forum Explorer]

Supply Route glances at Noise, recognizing that tone of voice all too well. So tell us about Tauranto Addawsa. We've got business there but personally I've never been here before. What are the sights and where should we absolutely avoid? she says trying to distract Joyous Noise with needed information.

[Ravian]

Chiseled regarded the stranger with a tilt of the head. He did not seem like a pony, most ponies he had met since leaving had been strange, but this one was particularly odd. His tribe had warned him that there were many strange creatures in the cities of bones. Some of his guardian instincts were kicking in with a not-pony obscuring themselves before his hosts. While his tribe had demanded that hospitality be respected for travelers and guests, time and raiders had proven that it was a privilege often abused. Still the lone not-pony was probably not an immediate threat, so Chiseled contented himself to stay silent and watch outside in case of an attack.

[Pokonic]

Addawsa looked at Chiseled Jaw for a few moments, perhaps wondering if he would speak, before looking to Supply Route.

"Oh, to be honest, most of the city's perfectly nice to visit. Some towns are nicer than others, such as the lovely one we are currently a brisk walk away from, of course, but..."

He seemed to lean back slightly without getting up, and his big neck almost touched his back for a few moments.

"I would advise you to both see the Celestia National Tower and stay away from it. It is quite the sight, but it is a very dangerous area. I would also advise you to not go near the Stable north of here, as it still has inhabitants who do not like outsiders much.

Oh, and how could I forget to mention my own home? To the west of here lies several neighborhoods of reputable quality, where a varied group like yourselves could easily find employ. Speaking of which, what led you to this city?"

[Forum Explorer]

Well I came because my friend wanted to and I can find work pretty much anywhere. Travelling alone in the Wasteland is often just asking for trouble.

Speaking of, is anypony travelling with you?

[Pokonic]

"Oh, just 'friend'?" Addawsa asked, sounding slightly confused, "I assumed that all of you were traveling together."

[Forum Explorer]

We all met up at the same caravan and stuck together when we realized we all had the same destination in mind. Supply Route explained.

[Colonel Fedora]

"We haven't known the others for very long." Noise added "I'm sure we'll get along swimmingly once we've traveled together more."

Her voice had a subtle confidence to it. She'd never had trouble making friends.

[RCgothic]

Joyous Noise was surprised by this gesture. She smiled at the other pegasus and clambered onto a cloud.

"I'm glad that courtesy, at least, isn't dead."

Stellar Blaze smiles back. "There's plenty of courtesy still to go around up here in Tauronto. There are still those who'd cause trouble, but most civilised ponies still know how to be nice. Especially for those that need it."


"Reavers? But that's terrible! Wait, I have no idea what Reavers are. Well, no matter! I'm sure I'll be able to explain things properly to them, and they will let me do my work. It is important work, after all!" Jinx throws quick glances around, then looks, amazed, at one of the clouds being pulled by the pegasus into the room; before Stellar could take place on her own cloud, the young earth pony jumped in the air to take her place, yelling enthusiastically.

And crashing to the ground, having passed right through the cloud. "Ouch! ...that's not fair. I want a cloud bed too! Hmmm... Perhaps now..." Grabbing the two futons that the pegasi had no need for by the teeth, she piled them together into a triple-size mattress. "Tada! Now I'm going to sleep better."

"Reavers are pretty xenophobic. Trust me, if the ponies in Tenpony wouldn't even talk to me, the Reavers would answer your polite enquiry with bullets. They hate anyone who's not one of them! At this stage I figure I'm just going to have to scour the wasteland for the things I need for my research."


Doc sat down on a futon and leaned back. "Well, think you two can squeeze some water out of those in the morning?" he asked the pegasi.

"Sure, I don't think that will be a problem." From her perch on her cloud, Stellar begins to undo the straps of her wingblades with her teeth, placing them one by one on the floor by her saddlebags. It's all very well to be prepared, but sleeping in wingblades just isn't safe! Her pistol holster does remain strapped to her upper foreleg however.

She stretches out the tension in her wings before settling into a more comfortable position on the cloud.


Addawsa looked at Chiseled Jaw for a few moments, perhaps wondering if he would speak, before looking to Supply Route.

"Oh, to be honest, most of the city's perfectly nice to visit. Some towns are nicer than others, such as the lovely one we are currently a brisk walk away from, of course, but..."

He seemed to lean back slightly without getting up, and his big neck almost touched his back for a few moments.

"I would advise you to both see the Celestia National Tower and stay away from it. It is quite the sight, but it is a very dangerous area. I would also advise you to not go near the Stable north of here, as it still has inhabitants who do not like outsiders much.

Oh, and how could I forget to mention my own home? To the west of here lies several neighborhoods of reputable quality, where a varied group like yourselves could easily find employ. Speaking of which, what led you to this city?"

Stellar nods along, this being common local knowledge. "I'm a local myself actually. Stellar Blaze. From Bolton, to the northwest. Nice to meet you!"


"We haven't known the others for very long." Noise added "I'm sure we'll get along swimmingly once we've traveled together more."

Her voice had a subtle confidence to it. She'd never had trouble making friends.
"I think I'd like that," Stellar says with a hopeful smile. She may not have been with these ponies long, but already she's warming to Jinx, Joyous and Doc Wagon. The other two don't seem like they'll be bad either once she gets to know them.

[DigoDragon]

Doc had dozed off for a bit. He yawned upon hearing some question about what brought them out here? "Yeah... just here for the practice," he said half-heartedly.

[Pokonic]

Addawsa sits silent for a bit, and when he speaks again, he sounds slightly relieved.

"Ah, well, you all seem like decent folk; it's just that the city doesn't get much traffic from the south. It's interesting to me that both of the winged ponies here are from the city as well."

The cloaked creature's voice started to sound slightly strained, like he was trying to carry on the conversation.

"Oh, if it's true that you are not simply caravan ponies, does that mean that none of you have any jobs here yet?"

[RCgothic]

"I suppose we'd be a rare grouping wherever we were, pegasi outside the enclave aren't exactly common. Us girls have got to stick together!" Stellar flashes a conspiratorial grin at Joyous, hoping she hasn't just overstepped the bounds of their nascent acquaintance.

"No, no job at the moment. I used to help on the caravan route between Bolton and Tauronto, but I'm a little more freelance these days. I'll take any job that will let me roam the wastes at the moment."

[Mechanix]

"Oh, I wouldn't be a trader if I didn't do a bit a bit of trading. I do see you have a saddle there, as well as a Pip Buck. As you do not seem to have any currency on you, I would be happy to give you anything you would wish from my own supplies for the latter.""I'm afraid I can't part with the PipBuck - it's kind of a lucky trinket, you see? Also tremendously useful when I need to aim some tricky shots at a raider's face!" Mentioning gunfighting does not seem in any way to deter Jinx's bubbly behavior. "And I'm Jinx, by the way! Pleasedtomeetcha!"


"Reavers are pretty xenophobic. Trust me, if the ponies in Tenpony wouldn't even talk to me, the Reavers would answer your polite enquiry with bullets. They hate anyone who's not one of them! At this stage I figure I'm just going to have to scour the wasteland for the things I need for my research.""Oh, well. Maybe I can tag along! We could be like science adventurers, wandering the wasteland to find lost technology and stuff! Fighting monsters and uncovering the secrets of the paaaast!" The last word is accentuated in an exaggerated dramatic voice.

"By which I mean, nossir Addawsa sir, I don't have a job. Except if by job you mean walking around finding stuff to repair! Which I guess would be a job, if I ever got paid. Food for thought."

[Pokonic]

"Oh, roam the wastes? I don't like to think of Tauronto as being a 'waste', really. From how I understand it, most places do not have easy ways to get clean water, which is just a shame. Is that true? Are things really so bad in the south that others will try and ransom something as basic as water for caps?"

Addawsa paused for a few moments to listen to Jinx speak, but started to lower his head about midway though her speech.

"Oh, there are no raiders here, little pony, I assure you, so there is little need for that box on you're leg. There are not many secrets in this city either, I must admit.

Truly, I am offering you a favor. Ponies with Pip-Bucks are often not seen in a kind light here, I am afraid. Most ponies who have them are taken as being from the Stable to the north, who tend to be seen as troublemakers. Oh, I remember when it was first opened, actually; they were all quite unfamiliar with the city and didn't know how to behave. I myself got in a nasty quarrel with a few of them, and for that I very nearly lost an eye. Oh, one of the younger horned ponies punched me in the face with a hoof covered in a brass sheath and tried to knock me over. They all had knifes and guns and such, and I was lucky that day in the markets. It was awful."

Addawsa said the following in the same slightly wheezy, hokey tone he had been using for the entire conversation.

[DigoDragon]

"Thanks for the tip about the northerners," Doc commented. "What wares do you sell? Anything specific, or just an eclectic mix of everything?"

[Pokonic]

"Oh, I try and carry everything I can that's worthwhile. I do not carry weapons, though; I don't like selling what I don't know how to use myself. Mostly food and drink, though I do try and find other sorts of goods that have decent value."

Addawsa chuckled lightly.

"I will admit that I do sell some things I wouldn't use myself, though. There was a fortunate incident that happened a week ago, when a good natured group of adventurers like yourselves decided to remove a drug producer from the streets of the city. I happened to be nearby, and, oh, there was a trove of the merchant's merchandise simply laying around! I am a little embarrassed that I have a surplus of medical supplies of dubious useage. Tell me, you are a doctor, yes? Would you have any use for Dash or Rage? Perhaps Dust?"

[DigoDragon]

"I may have a use, yes," Doc replied, "But allow me to sleep on the idea if you don't mind. I could use a few hours rest."

[Pokonic]

"Oh, of course." Addawsa replied, before leaning his presumably large neck closer to the small light in the center of the room.

[Forum Explorer]

"Oh, roam the wastes? I don't like to think of Tauronto as being a 'waste', really. From how I understand it, most places do not have easy ways to get clean water, which is just a shame. Is that true? Are things really so bad in the south that others will try and ransom something as basic as water for caps?"

Addawsa paused for a few moments to listen to Jinx speak, but started to lower his head about midway though her speech.

"Oh, there are no raiders here, little pony, I assure you, so there is little need for that box on you're leg. There are not many secrets in this city either, I must admit.

Truly, I am offering you a favor. Ponies with Pip-Bucks are often not seen in a kind light here, I am afraid. Most ponies who have them are taken as being from the Stable to the north, who tend to be seen as troublemakers. Oh, I remember when it was first opened, actually; they were all quite unfamiliar with the city and didn't know how to behave. I myself got in a nasty quarrel with a few of them, and for that I very nearly lost an eye. Oh, one of the younger horned ponies punched me in the face with a hoof covered in a brass sheath and tried to knock me over. They all had knifes and guns and such, and I was lucky that day in the markets. It was awful."

Addawsa said the following in the same slightly wheezy, hokey tone he had been using for the entire conversation.

Clean water is a bit of a rarity down south so it tends to cost caps or at least allegiance to whoever controls the local water talisman. Even the rainwater tends to be irradiated.

And I knew you had a story in you.

[Pokonic]

"Oh, that's hardly a good story." Addawsa said, "And that is a shame, about the water. I was always told you little ponies worked together on things like that, but apparently that does not hold true outside of this city. A pity. At least you six are good folk."

Addawsa paused for a few moments, and leaned his neck back far enough so that the hood on his cloak fell back. After a few moments of keeping away from the light he brought his head back closer to the fire.

He was very clearly not a pony.

His head was too forward-facing and he had prominent jowls, white hair standing out against his blunt yellow-brown head. His eyes were small as well as his ears, and he had bushy eyebrows but he didn't have a mane. His neck was covered in far thicker fur then that which covered his head, though. It sort of looked like his head was simply resting in the middle of a thick furry trunk of sorts, really; he was really fluffy.

"A pity about this weather, I must admit. It's supposed to be only getting colder."

[Forum Explorer]

"Oh, that's hardly a good story." Addawsa said, "And that is a shame, about the water. I was always told you little ponies worked together on things like that, but apparently that does not hold true outside of this city. A pity. At least you six are good folk."

Addawsa paused for a few moments, and leaned his neck back far enough so that the hood on his cloak fell back. After a few moments of keeping away from the light he brought his head back closer to the fire.

He was very clearly not a pony.

His head was too forward-facing and he had prominent jowls, white hair standing out against his blunt yellow-brown head. His eyes were small as well as his ears, and he had bushy eyebrows and he didn't have a mane. His neck was covered in far thicker fur then his head, to the point where it looked like it was double the width of his own head. It sort of looked like his head was simply resting in the middle of a thick furry trunk of sorts, actually.

"A pity about this weather, I must admit. It's supposed to be only getting colder."

Stories are all about the telling. A little practice and even your altercation can become an exciting tale to inspire and teach.

Equestria has fallen a long way since the war. Maybe one day we'll manage to all work together again. Supply Route says staring at their guest.


Pardon my asking, but what are you? she asks politely.

[Pokonic]

"Oh? I am a camel." Addawsa stated mildly, blinking absent-mindedly. "Admittedly a hairy one, which I could see could cause some confusion. Ah, that's a tale!"

The camel shifted himself away from the fire, and began to talk with some gusto.

"My kin arrived from the city of Bactehran, across the sea, a long time ago. The one-humped tribe, who you have probably seen before, descend from those who lived in Dromador. Their lands were hot deserts, while ours were cold steppe, but neverless our borders met and their were silly disputes between the two tribes. Those who dwelled in Bactehran said that only they were tough enough to survive in the cold, and that those who lived in the deserts couldn't stand the chill or stand the feel of cold rock, and as such were weak cowards. Those who dwelled in Dromador, accordingly, claimed that those who lived in Bactehran were casted out from their comfortable lands and exiled to the rocky steppe for some great betrayal, and that we were unshorn savages as well who couldn't take the heat of the desert.

Of course, today, here in Equestria, trying to call yourself a member of a tribe is a folly, as the number of humps one has is hardly a good way to determine what one's great-great-great grandparents looked like."

[Colonel Fedora]

"Ponies were divided into tribes once, long ago."

She glanced upward.

"When I was a filly, I could never imagine what that was like."

[Ravian]

Chiseled's ears perked up with the mention of tribes. The tribe is family. he stated slightly confused. These ponies were not in tribes? No wonder they fought each other so savagely. Forgive me for my interruption, I belong to a tribe that still trots the wastes. We are not many in number and do not dwell within the cities of bones. But we live as the Light intended, without the tools that destroyed the land.
he paused before adding
How do you ponies survive without the ties of tribe?

[Pokonic]

Addawsa looked as if he was going to answer Joyous Noise, but Chiseled Jaw's words made him pause.

"Hmm, I must be remembering this incorrectly, but I once heard that ponies once fled the north to Equestria, to flee some great evil. It was then the three tribes united and kicked out the donkey's already living in Equestria. Or perhaps I am remembering that wrongly, and the donkey's were the great evil? Oh, was it goats? Were donkey's even on the continent... Something about a windy thing?" He paused, looking a little helpless. "Was there something about a windy thing, or was it that nonsense about a valley being flooded?"

Addawsa stopped talking for a moment, looking as if he was embarrassed and wasn't going to open his mouth again, until he did.

"Oh, I have a terrible memory for stories. I can never keep track of which versions that are best to be spoken in which company."

[Colonel Fedora]

"The origin of Equestria is traditionally told as a play every Hearth's Warming Eve." she said "The story goes that the three races of ponies were divided into tribes, and although they needed each other to survive, they constantly squabbled and bickered. During a particularly terrible Winter, the tribes were forced to move South, to the land we now know as Equestria. Here, it was revealed that the blizzards they fled from were caused by terrible ice spirits known as windigoes. Windigoes are fueled by hatred and conflict, so the ponies had to unite in order to defeat them. And that is how Equestria was made."

She looked wistful for a moment.

"I actually got me Cutie Mark during a production of it. The pony that was supposed to play Commander Hurricane got sick less than an hour before the show, and I had to replace her." she smiled nostalgically "Afterwords, my director told me that I was so into the role that I didn't even notice until after we had done our bows."

[Pokonic]

"Oh, I do believe I know what you are talking about!" the camel stated happily.

"But I do believe I recall a different version of it, which I heard from a fellow merchant. The story is basically the same, but it doesn't omit the part where the ponies don't leave a frosted wasteland behind them as they flee into the Equestrian heartlands because of the windythingies chasing them, or the story of the exodus of non-ponies who were not warned of what the ponies caused to freeze to death or be forced out of their homes."

The camel paused once again. "Oh, I suppose the interpretation differences in stories like are unimportant by this point, hmm? Ponies once fled the north after ruining it, and now they are returning to it, after they apparently ruined the south."

[RCgothic]

Stellar settles down to a preening session. It's not easy to keep white feathers looking this magnificent, particularly when forced to wear wingblades all day, and they take a lot of looking after. She doesn't have much to add, so preening is a good use of time. But she does listen intently. Stories from before the war are rare and she hasn't heard this one before.

[Forum Explorer]

"Oh? I am a camel." Addawsa stated mildly, blinking absent-mindedly. "Admittedly a hairy one, which I could see could cause some confusion. Ah, that's a tale!"

The camel shifted himself away from the fire, and began to talk with some gusto.

"My kin arrived from the city of Bactehran , across the sea, a long time ago. The one-humped tribe, who you have probably seen before, descend from those who lived in Dromador. Their lands were hot deserts, while ours were cold steppe, but neverless our borders met and their were silly disputes between the two tribes. Those who dwelled in Bactehran said that only they were tough enough to survive in the cold, and that those who lived in the deserts couldn't stand the chill or stand the feel of cold rock, and as such were weak cowards. Those who dwelled in Dromador, accordingly, claimed that those who lived in Bactehran were casted out from their comfortable lands and exiled to the rocky steppe for some great betrayal, and that we were unshorn savages as well who couldn't take the heat of the desert.

Of course, today, here in Equestria, trying to call yourself a member of a tribe is a folly, as the number of humps one has is hardly a good way to determine what one's great-great-great grandparents looked like."

This is my first time meeting a camel actually. Your species is very rare to the south.

And I think the past is best left to the past. No sense letting it ruin the future.



Chiseled's ears perked up with the mention of tribes. The tribe is family. he stated slightly confused. These ponies were not in tribes? No wonder they fought each other so savagely. Forgive me for my interruption, I belong to a tribe that still trots the wastes. We are not many in number and do not dwell within the cities of bones. But we live as the Light intended, without the tools that destroyed the land.
he paused before adding
How do you ponies survive without the ties of tribe?

Some ponies survive without faimly either. Supply Route points out. All it takes is sticking to your virtue, a heart that's open to having friends, not being an idiot, and a little bit of luck.

[Colonel Fedora]

And I think the past is best left to the past. No sense letting it ruin the future.



"But sometimes, the past is all you have left." she mumbled, in a voice not meant to be heard.

[Forum Explorer]

"But sometimes, the past is all you have left." she mumbled, in a voice not meant to be heard.

Supply Route had been listening for it though. Well they had gone over this before anyways. No matter how bad the present may seem, you always have hope for a better future.

[Colonel Fedora]

Noise nodded in response, but she didn't seem exactly convinced. Supply Route's optimism seemed to be little more than an empty cliche at this point.

[RCgothic]

Stellar isn't usually the most perceptive of ponies, but she had been listening closely. With an easy flap she pushes her cloud alongside and offers Joyous Noise a wing.

"Any time you want to talk about it, you can talk to me."

The offer is gentle, neither prying nor insistent. Just genuine concern for a soul who appears to be in pain.

[Pokonic]

Addawsa stopped to listen to all the little pony's talking, saying nothing. Outside, the wind picked up slightly.

Everyone, make a Perception roll.

[RCgothic]

Perception: [roll0] 3 or under

[Ravian]

[roll0]
Perception 3

[DigoDragon]

[roll0] out of 7

[Ravian]

((Dangit, stupid minimal characters threw my roll off.
[roll0]

[Ravian]

((and now the time between posts threw it off... :smallsigh:))
[roll0]
Preception 3

[Mechanix]

It was all so fascinating to hear! Stories about the past, about tribes of ponies, and seeing a camel for the first time - wonderful. For once Jinx remained quiet, listening avidly to everything; her life in a Stable had left her poor in good stories and worldliness, and so she took it all in, and would keep it stored somewhere in the back of her mind, to transfer it again later.

This left her somewhat blind and deaf to her surroundings and the wind raging outside.

[roll0]
Perception 5.

[Colonel Fedora]

Noise flashed Stellar a smile. She might even take up that offer, some day.

Rolled a 3 with a perception of 4

[Forum Explorer]

Perception: [roll0] under 3

[Pokonic]

For all the talk and chatter amongst the dim light of the fire, something was wrong in the room.

For those who could catch it, of which Steller Blaze was the first, it was clearly unnatural. Joyous Noise and Doc Wagon both got glances of it as well, albet briefer ones.

To put it simply, the air was shimmering near the door, which was odd, because darkness usually doesn't shimmer.

[DigoDragon]

Doc sat up from the futon. "Uh, that's... not a lantern, is it?" He rolled off the futon away from the door.

[Pokonic]

The shimmering stopped for a few moments, and the sound of hooves on wood was clear in the bar.

The door flung open a few seconds later, and the shimmering patch in the air seemed to move outside, making sounds that sounded suspiciously like muffled curses.

[Forum Explorer]

So I don't suppose you're friends with a unicorn who can cast invisibility are you? Supply says drawing her zebra sword with her mouth and focusing on the doorway.

[RCgothic]

Stellar wraps her wing around Joyous Noise. There's very little in the wasteland that feels quite so good as a wing hug or the feeling of getting to know new friends, and she smiles contentedly.

But there's something not quite right by the door. After staring for a few moments Stellar recognises the tell-tale shimmer of a stealth field and stiffens suddenly. She can feel Joyous Noise react to her sudden tenseness underneath her wing and then notice it as well. Reaching slowly for her gun, the shimmer is startled by Doc Wagon's comment and makes a run for it.

Immediately, Stellar launches herself after the hidden pony, through the still open door.

"Shhtop! Or 'll shhht!" she manages to call out despite the muffling effects of the gun-bit between her teeth. In all honesty she has little hope of catching the stealthed figure now that it's outside and on the move.

[DigoDragon]

Doc pulls out his revolver and moves toward the door. He takes a peek outside to see if there is anyone else out there watching the occupants of this bar.

[Pokonic]

Addawsa just turned his head to face the door for a few moments, looking dumbfounded.

"Oh, no, I wouldn't believe I do."

Meanwhile, outside, there wasn't anything indicating that there was another invisible pony outside waiting for them.

At least, until the sounds of distant gunfire started up.

And then the sounds of not-so distant gunfire.

[RCgothic]

Cursing at having lost the intruder, Stellar dashes back inside to where her wingblades and saddlebags had been deposited and begins to fasten them back in place.

"Couldn't find our sneak, but there's trouble abroad! I'm going to get some altitude and see if I can figure out what's going on. Everyone be careful," she adds.

Now fully armed and supplied, Stellar heads back outside, fighting for altitude to gain an overview of the developing battle.

[DigoDragon]

"Never rains..." Doc muttered. He had his revolver out and remained crouched just inside the doorway. "Somepony want to peek out one of the other three-hundred holes in this shack to make sure we're not being surrounded?"

[Mechanix]

"Why do fights always break out during the interesting stories!" Jinx grumbles, and then with much stretching, grunting and twisting, proceeds to put her battle saddle back on. "I shwr this happs vry time..." she groans through a mouthful of leather, before sighing and trotting up to one of the shack's windows. "I spy, with my little eye, something beginnning with 'gunfight'..."

Perception 7 roll:
[roll0]

[Forum Explorer]

Stay here and stay safe. Supply Route says, picking her sword up in her mouth before sneaking out the door.

Sneak [roll0] under 41

She heads towards the gunfire, aiming to find out what's happening.

[Pokonic]

Jinx would be able to see that there's nopony around the bar, invisible or not. Not a single telltale shimmer or sparkle or suspiciously creaking wooden boards.

Stellar's idea to fly out and see what was going on was a good idea, but it was hard to tell who or what was fighting, because it was pitch black outside and the winds made it hard to determine where the gunshots were being fired. However, she could see that the firefight was happening down the street where Humble was, and there was at least two parties involved.



Supply Route, on the other hoof, would quickly discover two things as she sneaked away from the bar.

For one, she managed to spot a patch of shimmering air disperse across the street from the bar, revealing a pony who had a decent-sized gun strapped to his side.

Secondly, said pony didn't seem to notice that she was in the middle of the street, either frightened witless or simply dense enough to not notice the unicorn with the zebra swords skulking around.

[Forum Explorer]

Supply Route crouches down in the snow and watches the armed pony, waiting to see what he does next. She didn't want to kill him unless he was actually trying to kill them after all. She does move over to a better hiding spot that she can view him safely from if possible though. No sense just waiting in the street.


Tell me when you want a new Stealth roll.

[Colonel Fedora]

Joyous Noise hated the sound of gunfire. It was piercing, loud, and meant that somepony was probably going to die.

In short, it was everything wrong with this new Equestria. And she was completely useless. She took her cloud and hid behind the bar.

[DigoDragon]

"Anyone see any trouble out there?" Doc asked as he continued to watch the doorway.

[Ravian]

Perception 3
[roll0]

Chiseled Jaw drew his spear once he heard the gunfire. The devices the ruin dwellers used to kill one another had confused him during his first encounters with them, but he had dealt with raiders more than enough to realize they were bad news. He took point by the door, but was slightly alarmed when the unicorn mare went ahead outside. He did not like the idea of one of their own going out without aid, but he did not pursue.

[RCgothic]

Stellar flits closer to the firefight, hoping to find out what's going on without being noticed.

I hope there's some sort of positive modifier for this: it's very dark, flying is silent, firefights are very distracting, and hopefully no-one's expecting a pegasus from above.

[roll0] under 23+modifier.

[Pokonic]

Addawsa attempted to hide near one of the moldering tables quite uneffectively. It was pretty pathetic.


Supply Route crouches down in the snow and watches the armed pony, waiting to see what he does next. She didn't want to kill him unless he was actually trying to kill them after all. She does move over to a better hiding spot that she can view him safely from if possible though. No sense just waiting in the street.


Tell me when you want a new Stealth roll.

The stallion did look in her general direction for a few moments, but turned back to the house he was standing in front of and started to mumble to himself in due time. The gun was a heavy piece of work and the stallion himself seemed to know it, going by the way he fumbled with opening up a tripod aimed down the street. With his back turned and his main concern being his gun, he seemed completely unaware that Supply Route was nearby.

You only need to roll for Stealth again if you want to get within fighting distance.


Perception 3
[roll0]

Chiseled Jaw drew his spear once he heard the gunfire. The devices the ruin dwellers used to kill one another had confused him during his first encounters with them, but he had dealt with raiders more than enough to realize they were bad news. He took point by the door, but was slightly alarmed when the unicorn mare went ahead outside. He did not like the idea of one of their own going out without aid, but he did not pursue.

It was pretty dark, but Chiseled managed to get the faint flashing of light-on-metal down the street, off to the right slightly. It revealed the barrel of a gun, a large gun, seemingly pointed just slightly away from the bar.


Stellar flits closer to the firefight, hoping to find out what's going on without being noticed.

I hope there's some sort of positive modifier for this: it's very dark, flying is silent, firefights are very distracting, and hopefully no-one's expecting a pegasus from above.

[roll0] under 23+modifier.

It was dark and windy and, overall, pretty bad conditions for anyone who doesn't have night vision to try and see what was happening anywhere.

But, Stellar managed to pick out a few details in the mess happening below her.

One group was apparently around a large pre-war house and apparently trying to use it as a fortress of sorts. There were two ponies on the roof that were plainly visible to her, only because they were brightly colored. Both had large guns and were firing down on the ponies below.

Said ponies below had to number at least three dozen and just seemed focused on attacking the house. There were less of the pop-pop of gunfire coming from the horde, so it was possible that they didn't have too many guns or were a traditional pitchfork-and-torches mob.

[RCgothic]

Stellar considers the situation. Should she return and tell the others? The mob doesn't seem focussed on the ponies of the caravan. But there's still no telling what's the reasons - she's going to have to talk to somepony.

Flying in high and fast and therefore away from any accidental lines of fire, Stellar holsters her gun before performing a last minute swoop onto the rooftop, wings instantly snapped shut so as not to appear threatening with her blades. Not that that will delay their use in any way if necessary, but perceptions are important.

"Hi, I'm here to help! What's the situation?"

[Forum Explorer]

Supply Route keeps watching, not wanting to act unless he point the gun towards the shelter she left the others in.

[Pokonic]

Stellar considers the situation. Should she return and tell the others? The mob doesn't seem focussed on the ponies of the caravan. But there's still no telling what's the reasons - she's going to have to talk to somepony.

Flying in high and fast and therefore away from any accidental lines of fire, Stellar holsters her gun before performing a last minute swoop onto the rooftop, wings instantly snapped shut so as not to appear threatening with her blades. Not that that will delay their use in any way if necessary, but perceptions are important.

"Hi, I'm here to help! What's the situation?"

When Steller landed on the roof, only one of the ponies immediately noticed her, a yellow unicorn with a shotgun next to herself who looked rather surprised, understandably. But, after a few moments, she shook her head and motioned over to the crowd below with the butt of her gun.

"Well, what does it look like!" the unicorn spoke in a light, slightly squeaky voice that shouldn'tve naturally sounded so angry, "We've been found out! You want to help, go down and slice some heads off with those things on your wings!"

On that note, Steller now has a decent view of the mob below; the ponies within it looked unarmed, although some did have actual guns. However, because the building was three floors tall it was rather hard to make out what the ponies below were saying. It was pretty easy to hear their yelling, though.


Supply Route keeps watching, not wanting to act unless he point the gun towards the shelter she left the others in.

The stallion continues to fiddle with the large gun on the tripod, adjusting it every-which way and constantly shifting the position of the tripod in slight amounts.

After half a minute or so of doing this, the stallion gets in place to aim it, off to the left, vaguely in the direction of where the gunfire is coming from.

[Ravian]

Chiseled peered through the darkness, making out the enemy.
"There is a pony with a, gun is it? I do not know if they are one from the group or a foe. They do not seem to know we are here, but they are pointed towards the ruin"

He turned back to the rest of the group. "What should we do?"

[DigoDragon]

"Unless somepony hands me a scorecard, I'm hesitant to get involved," Doc said to Chiseled. "I suppose we could ask the armed pony what's going on as a start."

[Pokonic]

Addawsa, very cautiously, turned his big head around to look at Chiseled.

"Oh, which ruin? Because, as it is, every building here classifies as a ruin."

[Ravian]

Addawsa, very cautiously, turned his big head around to look at Chiseled.

"Oh, which ruin? Because, as it is, every building here classifies as a ruin."

"This ruin" Chiseled said simply.

[Mechanix]

"That's terrible! We can't just let people shoot at each other like that! We should go out and... Convince them to stop... or something! But I'm terrible at this; for some reasons people tend to just stare at me blankly or smack me other the head when I try to be di-plo-ma-tic. Hm." The young pony puts a hoof to her chin, thinking apparently deep thoughts. Maybe.

"I say we all come out and yell very loudly until people stop to turn and look at us. Because we have nothing to do with their squabble, our intervention will confuse and baffle them! It will create a moment of opportunity for someone to... hmmm... throw an improvised dance number? Probably just do a speech about how they should stop shooting at each other..."

[Pokonic]

"Oh, but what if he's one of those sorts who reacts to being startled by shooting at the thing that startles him? As far as I can tell, you all have few weapons for a group of you're size." Addawsa replied to Jinx, apparently unsure of how to respond to Chiseled.

[Mechanix]

"Well I do have this here battle saddle for raiders and nasty animals, but I'm not the best shot around, and I'd rather not shoot at people if not needed. So I guess that leaves me stuck here in this shambling shack hoping the others will do better..."

[Pokonic]

"Oh, well, that seems reasonable." Addawsa replied, before becoming quiet once again.

[DigoDragon]

"Well, you're not stuck alone," Doc adds in. "I'm all for diplomacy, but we don't even know what they're fighting over. We should see if we can ask some questions with one or two of 'em before we start yelling at the crowd. Besides, I'm not a good dancer."

[Ravian]

"I have usually noticed that ponies with guns tend to use them before talking about what they are fighting about. I believe that the term is 'shoot first ask questions later'? Of course if one among us was considered nonthreatening and a good talker perhaps we could avoid this and attempt peace-making." Chiseled looked about the ruin, hoping somepony who fit this description would suddenly appear.

[DigoDragon]

Doc glanced at his gun for a moment. "While I'd like to think that a doctor wouldn't be considered threatening, I tend to make better conversation with unconscious patients than the awake ones," he commented. "Then again, a lot of the live ones are usually screaming something like 'Oh gawd it hurts! It hurts!' so I can't really assume its entirely me."

[RCgothic]

When Steller landed on the roof, only one of the ponies immediately noticed her, a yellow unicorn with a shotgun next to herself who looked rather surprised, understandably. But, after a few moments, she shook her head and motioned over to the crowd below with the butt of her gun.

"Well, what does it look like!" the unicorn spoke in a light, slightly squeaky voice that shouldnt've naturally sounded so angry, "We've been found out! You want to help, go down and slice some heads off with those things on your wings!"

On that note, Steller now has a decent view of the mob below; the ponies within it looked unarmed, although some did have actual guns. However, because the building was three floors tall it was rather hard to make out what the ponies below were saying. It was pretty easy to hear their yelling, though.


Well that sounded ominous. Found out about what? More information is needed, and asking these two sounds as though it may expose a dangerous ignorance. "Thirty to one in melee isn't my idea of fun! But there may be something I can do."

Stellar flaps back into the air before taking off away from the house high and fast. As she goes, she makes a note of the defender's weapons and angles of fire. In the dark she loops low around a couple buildings to disguise her point of origin before trotting up behind the mob to one of the not-so-well armed members. As on the roof, her pistol is holstered and her wings tightly folded. "Can anyone tell me what all this is about?"

[Pokonic]

Well that sounded ominous. Found out about what? More information is needed, and asking these two sounds as though it may expose a dangerous ignerance. "Thirty to one in melee isn't my idea of fun! But there may be something I can do."

The unicorn shrugged.

"Oh, waitaminute, I got another rifle back- wait, what are you...hey!"


Stellar flaps back into the air before taking off away from the house high and fast. As she goes, she makes a note of the defender's weapons and angles of fire.

Stellar's fast movements might have saved her from having her head blown off by the unicorn she left behind, but because of the darkness, it was hard to tell the exact numbers of defenders of the house or who was in it, let alone where they were firing their shots. All an aerial view showed her was that there were slightly more ponies attacking the front of the house than the back. All said, it didn't look like any of the defenders were willing to step outside and face the mob.

I'm a stickler for putting penalties on things: as this is the starter area of sorts, things like what's above is okay, but later it would be best to, say, make a roll in Perception when one is trying to observe something on the move that's already been shown to be pretty hard to do.


In the dark she loops low around a couple buildings to disguise her point of origin before trotting up behind the mob to one of the not-so-well armed members. As on the roof, her pistol is holstered and her wings tightly folded. "Can anyone tell me what all this is about?"

The said not-so-well armed member was a lanky looking colt who was wearing a jacket and nothing else, one who just stared at the pegasus who came down from above wide-eyed.

Giving that this colt happened to be on the outliers of the mob and seemed only a year or two in proudly bearing a cutie mark, he could probably be excused for looking at Stellar oddly.

A shimmering patch of darkness that Stellar was moving too fast to notice dissipated a few feet from where Stellar was standing as well, and a lanky griffon standing on two legs in the zebra fashion, holding a gun with a barrel so long that it almost brushed against the left side of Stellar's head.

"Just money, honey." said the griffon, not sounding friendly at all.

[Colonel Fedora]

"I have usually noticed that ponies with guns tend to use them before talking about what they are fighting about. I believe that the term is 'shoot first ask questions later'? Of course if one among us was considered nonthreatening and a good talker perhaps we could avoid this and attempt peace-making." Chiseled looked about the ruin, hoping somepony who fit this description would suddenly appear.

Noise wasn't sure if Chiseled Jaw was referring to her or not, but it certainly felt like he was. Joyous Noise dismounted her cloud and walked over to where he and Doc Wagon were standing.

"Do you think somepony could make them stop fighting? With just words?"

She did not feel or sound especially confident about this idea.
But something in her said she should try.

[DigoDragon]

"Well, the fight is going to end either way," Doc said. "Whether it be by words or weapons. I guess... I guess we can try words first." He holstered his revolver and buttoned up his coat.

"You want to come with to talk to the friendly townsfolk?"

[RCgothic]

The unicorn shrugged.

"Oh, waitaminute, I got another rifle back- wait, what are you...hey!"

Stellar's fast movements might have saved her from having her head blown off by the unicorn she left behind, but because of the darkness, it was hard to tell the exact numbers of defenders of the house or who was in it, let alone where they were firing their shots. All an aerial view showed her was that there were slightly more ponies attacking the front of the house than the back. All said, it didn't look like any of the defenders were willing to step outside and face the mob.

I'm a stickler for putting penalties on things: as this is the starter area of sorts, things like what's above is okay, but later it would be best to, say, make a roll in Perception when one is trying to observe something on the move that's already been shown to be pretty hard to do.
I only meant the two on the roof that she'd been standing next to and got a good look at. Did the unicorn actually make a threatening move? I think in general I prefer passive perception checks to be rolled by the dm as it's an always on thing that just slows the game down if we all have to be asked to make perception rolls and then wait for everyone to reply in case the last player rolls a critical success that might change events. When I DM I have a spreadsheet set up to mass-roll every check for every player all at once. Then I jus look at the column with Perception, Initiative or Saves I need. Saves a lot of time!
As this is a specific case, here's a roll: [roll0] equal or under 3.


The said not-so-well armed member was a lanky looking colt who was wearing a jacket and nothing else, one who just stared at the pegasus who came down from above wide-eyed.

Giving that this colt happened to be on the outliers of the mob and seemed only a year or two in proudly bearing a cutie mark, he could probably be excused for looking at Stellar oddly.

A shimmering patch of darkness that Stellar was moving too fast to notice dissipated a few feet from where Stellar was standing as well, and a lanky griffon standing on two legs in the zebra fashion, holding a gun with a barrel so long that it almost brushed against the left side of Stellar's head.

"Just money, honey." said the griffon, not sounding friendly at all.

Stellar freezes as the heavily armed griffon appears from nowhere next to her. She has to stifle the urge to squeak! "In that case I'll not intrude on your business any further!"

The white pegasus mare takes off back towards the others at a sprint!
75 action points = 5 sprint intervals = 240yards.
She'll try and break line of sight around the nearest building before heading back to the others to report.

[Pokonic]

"You want to come with to talk to the friendly townsfolk?"

"Oh, I wouldn't think Humble would accept us inside." the camel spoke up, sounding slightly sorry for some reason, "giving that they tend to close off everything on the slightest bit of trouble. They might assume that you're group were part of whatever is going on outside."

He paused for a few moments.

"Oh, I also sold them a minigun turret that they just managed to set up before I left. It's probably pointing in the direction of the the street, I would think."




Stellar freezes as the heavily armed griffon appears from nowhere next to her. She has to stifle the urge to squeak! "In that case I'll not intrude on your business any further!"

Stellar, if anything, was fast, and the griffon didn't fire a shot at her as she took to the air.

The griffon did, however, try to trail her, flying far slower than Stellar but still clutching that huge gun of his.

[RCgothic]

Oh, so this he thinks he can follow me? Stellar thinks. If she dodges too much the griffon will be able to catch up by flying above the roofline. If she doesn't dodge enough the griffon will be able to get a shot.

Staying low she takes the first hard right, taking her away from the others - No sense leading the enemy straight home. After a couple of blocks she takes a left and then a right, jinking to break line of sight and lose her pursuer.

Another 240yds of sprint (75AP), with 6Ap of dodge thrown in - 3% hit penalty.

[Pokonic]

Oh, so this he thinks he can follow me? Stellar thinks. If she dodges too much the griffon will be able to catch up by flying above the roofline. If she doesn't dodge enough the griffon will be able to get a shot.

Staying low she takes the first hard right, taking her away from the others - No sense leading the enemy straight home. After a couple of blocks she takes a left and then a right, jinking to break line of sight and lose her pursuer.

Another 240yds of sprint (75AP), with 6Ap of dodge thrown in - 3% hit penalty.

Stellar's good moves allow her to loose the griffon, and after a few good rounds of air-tag it seems to stop following her around the buildings...

Until after she takes that right, for the griffon re-enters the chase by dive-bombing straight towards Stellar from above, clearly intending to outright ground her with force.

Roll STR+AGL.

[Ravian]

"Oh, I wouldn't think Humble would accept us inside." the camel spoke up, sounding slightly sorry for some reason, "giving that they tend to close off everything on the slightest bit of trouble. They might assume that you're group were part of whatever is going on outside."

He paused for a few moments.

"Oh, I also sold them a minigun turret that they just managed to set up before I left. It's probably pointing in the direction of the the street, I would think."


"Well a small gun shouldn't prove much of a problem, I have dealt with regular sized guns in the past." Chiseled said visibly unconcerned. "I'm sure they will understand if we calmly explain the problem."

[DigoDragon]

"Well a small gun shouldn't prove much of a problem...

"A minigun isn't... no, you're right. It's not a problem. Let's go say hi." Doc peeks out of the doorway to see who's around.

[Colonel Fedora]

"A minigun isn't... no, you're right. It's not a problem. Let's go say hi." Doc peeks out of the doorway to see who's around.

Joyous Noise gulped, suddenly reminded of how long it had been since she'd drank anything. She hadn't felt stage fright like this in a long time.

Of course, she thought failure usually doesn't mean getting shot.

She went up a few feet in the air and drew a deep breath. "Can somepony please tell me what is going on?!" It was not yelling, per say. She was merely very good at projecting. You had to be, in the theatre.

Should I do a speech roll? Or should I roll to dodge bullets?

[DigoDragon]

Doc keeps his revolver under his coat and goes outside to stand by Joyous... or under... adjacent. On the ground. You know.

"Excuse us, we were just a bit curious on the commotions going on right now."

Speech (17): [roll0]

[Pokonic]

Addawsa decided to sit around a bit, taking up space, waiting for the crazy ponies outside to stop shooting at each other.

..............

The stallion near Supply Route finally fires a shot off from his gun, and after he did so he did a rather stupid little dance on his back hooves, like a jig but somehow more immature.

..............

Meanwhile, the griffon near Stellar was all predator and edges, and was that close to getting a good rake in on Stellar's pretty face before the outstretched talon it bore was, quite suddenly reduced to a stub of bone and cartilage due to a bullet striking clean through it. The griffon, screaming and cursing, made a rough landing on the ground on a pile of garbage below.



Should I do a speech roll? Or should I roll to dodge bullets?

So far, their are no bullets to dodge.


Doc keeps his revolver under his coat and goes outside to stand by Joyous... or under... adjacent. On the ground. You know.

"Excuse us, we were just a bit curious on the commotions going on right now."

Speech (17): [roll0]

While the general outside of the bar was pretty abandoned by the inhabitants of Humble, somepony answered their call.

Delicately, slowly, a small unicorn jumped from the roof of the bar towards where the two were standing outside, landing softly on the snow. She was wearing a light suit of a thin plastic-ish material and her light green face was in something akin to a scowl.

"Oh, really?" said the unicorn, "Are you going to tell me that none of you have anything to do with the idiocy going on over there?"

[DigoDragon]

"Oh, really?" said the unicorn, "Are you going to tell me that none of you have anything to do with the idiocy going on over there?"

"That's correct," Doc replied sincerely. "Our own brand of idiocy is independent of what's going on over there."

[Pokonic]

"That's correct," Doc replied sincerely. "Our own brand of idiocy is independent of what's going on over there."

The unicorn didn't seem to be amused by the doctor's words.

"That house they are fighting over has a big drug lab set up in it, and the gang in charge of the place isn't doing so hot, so the ponies around it are trying to take it over."

[RCgothic]

Stellar doesn't know who to thank for her good fortune, but this gruffin has shown a persistence in seeking her death that she's not entirely comfortable with. Her wings become a blur of steely death!

4 unarmed attacks. Don't know what the modifiers are.

Unarmed:
[roll0] under 32 damage [roll1]
[roll2] under 32 damage [roll3]
[roll4] under 32 damage [roll5]
[roll6] under 32 damage [roll7]

[Forum Explorer]

Supply Route tensed, but noticing that the gun wasn't pointed anywhere near companions, she remains still. Then the small unicorn showed up and started talking. Supply Route strained her ears to try and hear what was being said.

[Pokonic]

Stellar doesn't know who to thank for her good fortune, but this griffin has shown a persistence in seeking her death that she's not entirely comfortable with. Her wings become a blur of steely death!

4 unarmed attacks. Don't know what the modifiers are.

Unarmed:
[roll0] under 32 damage [roll1]
[roll2] under 32 damage [roll3]
[roll4] under 32 damage [roll5]
[roll6] under 32 damage [roll7]



The griffon at first tries to defend himself by raising his good arm against the steel blades, but the third slice left much of his arm hanging from a bit of meat and the fourth made a horrible noise when it cracked his beak, and the griffon just let out a little scream that sounded suspiciously like a kitten when it stopped trying to defend itself.

[DigoDragon]

"That house they are fighting over a big drug lab set up in it, and the gang in charge of the place isn't doing so hot, so the ponies around it are trying to take it over."

"Alright, well... thank you for explaining that. I'll be out of your way now." Doc decides to go head back inside the bar.

[Pokonic]

Supply Route tensed, but noticing that the gun wasn't pointed anywhere near companions, she remains still. Then the small unicorn showed up and started talking. Supply Route strained her ears to try and hear what was being said.

Supply Route managed to hear most of the conversation, even with the distance between her and the bar. The stallion with the gun, if he heard the ponies talk, didn't seem to know.


"Alright, well... thank you for explaining that. I'll be out of your way now." Doc decides to go head back inside the bar.

"Oh, no you don't." the unicorn said, giving the doctor a look of distrust, before turning to Joyous Noise and Chiseled Jaw. "Ghul, tribal, there's a camel in there, isn't there?"

[Colonel Fedora]

"Oh, no you don't." the unicorn said, giving the doctor a look of distrust, before turning to Joyous Noise and Chiseled Jaw. "Ghul, tribal, there's a camel in there, isn't there?"

Joyous Noise thought for a few tense seconds before responding. She couldn't think of any peaceful resolution to this battle, what with both parties fighting over a drug lab. They'd have to focus on getting out of it alive.

Noise looked down at the grumpy unicorn. "We're all perfectly peaceful sorts, not looking for any trouble. I think it would be best for all of us, ghoul or otherwise, if we just left peacefully." It took some effort not to mimic the unicorn's strange pronunciation of 'ghoul'.

Again, Speech roll?

[Pokonic]

Joyous Noise thought for a few tense seconds before responding. She couldn't think of any peaceful resolution to this battle, what with both parties fighting over a drug lab. They'd have to focus on getting out of it alive.

Noise looked down at the grumpy unicorn. "We're all perfectly peaceful sorts, not looking for any trouble. I think it would be best for all of us, ghoul or otherwise, if we just left peacefully." It took some effort not to mimic the unicorn's strange pronunciation of 'ghoul'.

Again, Speech roll?

Speech roll here, yes.

[RCgothic]

Stellar briefly considers whether or not to kill the griffin, but decides that his crimes aren't sufficient. She also considers taking his rifle, but it also looks too unwieldy. If he survives, his injuries should be chastisement enough.

"You should get those looked at. If you find a medic swiftly you may yet regain use of your limbs. Count yourself lucky I'm not one to bear grudges."

Stellar looks round to see if she can spot her saviour before leaving the griffin to his agony and flying back towards the others.
Perception [roll0] equal or under 3.
She'll raise a wing in salute as she leaves. The perception basically only determines whether she salutes her saviour directly or just the general vicinity.

[Colonel Fedora]

Speech roll here, yes.

49 over 41. :(

[Pokonic]

Stellar briefly considers whether or not to kill the griffin, but decides that his crimes aren't sufficient. She also considers taking his rifle, but it also looks too unwieldy. If he survives, his injuries should be chastisement enough.

"You should get those looked at. If you find a medic swiftly you may yet regain use of your limbs. Count yourself lucky I'm not one to bear grudges."

Stellar looks round to see if she can spot her saviour before leaving the griffin to his agony and flying back towards the others.
Perception [roll0] equal or under 3.
She'll raise a wing in salute as she leaves. The perception basically only determines whether she salutes her saviour directly or just the general vicinity.

Stellar's salute is greeted by nothing; it would seem that the pony who shot the griffon simply wasn't around, and her flight to where the others are was uninterrupted.


Joyous Noise thought for a few tense seconds before responding. She couldn't think of any peaceful resolution to this battle, what with both parties fighting over a drug lab. They'd have to focus on getting out of it alive.

Noise looked down at the grumpy unicorn. "We're all perfectly peaceful sorts, not looking for any trouble. I think it would be best for all of us, ghoul or otherwise, if we just left peacefully." It took some effort not to mimic the unicorn's strange pronunciation of 'ghoul'.

The unicorn narrowed her eyes.

"Yeah, and I was born yesterday, ghul."

Snorting, she turns to the good doctor, and gave him a little glare.

"You have fifteen seconds to tell me what you are doing here before I decide that you an't worth keeping around."

The unicorn's horn began to glow a light teal. While the doctor couldn't be called an expert on magic, anyone could probably tell that unicorn magic wasn't supposed to have dark shadowy flecks in it, though.

[Forum Explorer]

Supply Route bristled and glared down at the unicorn, not that anypony could see her. At the threat, she began counting down. In ten seconds she'd attack.


OOC
Giving diplomacy one last chance to succeed before teleporting in for a sneak attack on the unicorn. Should I roll now or after that last attempt?

[Pokonic]

Supply Route bristled and glared down at the unicorn, not that anypony could see her. At the threat, she began counting down. In ten seconds she'd attack.


OOC
Giving diplomacy one last chance to succeed before teleporting in for a sneak attack on the unicorn. Should I roll now or after that last attempt?

The stallion handling the gun notices the argument happening near the bar, but after a few moments of looking at it he returns to aiming the gun.

After.

[DigoDragon]

"You have fifteen seconds to tell me what you are doing here before I decide that you an't worth keeping around."

"Like I said," Doc reiterated, "I was just askin' what was up with the crowd out here. Before that, I was settling in for a nap in this here old bar shanty. And before that, I had arrived with a caravan that only means to pass through this settlement without disturbing the peace. Now, if it's alright with you, I'd like to stick to that plan because it involves the least amount of pain for the two of us."

[Pokonic]

"Like I said," Doc reiterated, "I was just askin' what was up with the crowd out here. Before that, I was settling in for a nap in this here old bar shanty. And before that, I had arrived with a caravan that only means to pass through this settlement without disturbing the peace. Now, if it's alright with you, I'd like to stick to that plan because it involves the least amount of pain for the two of us."

The mare seemed to have stopped listening about halfway through Doc's explanation and seemed on the verge of unleashing an arcane assault, giving how her horn positively crackled with ominous black lightning.

Unfortunately, the good doctors speech roll came out at a 98. :smalltongue:

Also, that's you're cue to roll, Forum Explorer, if you so choose.

[Colonel Fedora]

Joyous Noise hovered above Doc Wagon and was seriously considering trying to fly away to safety with him. This attempt at diplomacy was not going well at all.

[Forum Explorer]

Supply Route teleported as soon as the lightning began to form. Appearing in front of the unicorn she swings her blade, hoping to kill the unicorn in one swift stroke.


AP total: 82

Aiming for an extra 9%

Teleporting in (45 AP 20 strain)

The sneak attack [roll0] Under 80 (+30 sneak attack, +9 aim, 41 base) Damage: 28 (42 on crit)

Wild swing [roll1] Under 19 (-22 for wildswing base 41.)

[Pokonic]

Supply Route teleported as soon as the lightning began to form. Appearing in front of the unicorn she swings her blade, hoping to kill the unicorn in one swift stroke.


AP total: 82

Aiming for an extra 9%

Teleporting in (45 AP 20 strain)

The sneak attack [roll0] Under 80 (+30 sneak attack, +9 aim, 41 base) Damage: 28 (42 on crit)

Wild swing [roll1] Under 19 (-22 for wildswing base 41.)

Supply Route's quick strike made a deep wound across the right side the unicorn's neck, suddenly and deadly, but even so she managed to get off the spell she was casting before crumpling on the ground, shaking from the sudden loss of blood.

Unfortunately, an unaimed spell is a disaster in the making, and as the bolt of wild black-green lighting shot up from the unicorn's sputtering horn like a serpent ready to strike it seemed to move with malevolent intent.

Forum Explorer, Colonel Fedora, DigoDragon; roll AGI. Supply Route gets a -2 to the roll because she's not in the immediate strike range, though.

[Colonel Fedora]

Supply Route's quick strike made a deep wound across the right side the unicorn's neck, suddenly and deadly, but even so she managed to get off the spell she was casting before crumpling on the ground, shaking from the sudden loss of blood.

Unfortunately, an unaimed spell is a disaster in the making, and as the bolt of wild black-green lighting shot up from the unicorn's sputtering horn like a serpent ready to strike it seemed to move with almost malevolent intent.

Forum Explorer, Colonel Fedora, DigoDragon; roll AGI. Supply Route gets a -2 to the roll because she's not in the immediate strike range, though.

Noise dived out of range as fast as she could. How did everything go so wrong so fast?

3 out of 6

[Forum Explorer]

Supply dove to the side hoping the spell would cause anything too bad.

Agility: [roll0] under 8 I think 9 actually.

[DigoDragon]

Doc jumped to the side.

AGI: [roll0] out of 7.

[Pokonic]

The greasy shadow-lighting, for all it's horror, passed by the ponies outside the bar...

Only to hit the side of the bar in it's turbulent tumble in the air, causing a horrible explosion of wood and sound and smoke and snow.

The old wooden building made a creaky noise as it bucked inwards, and it looked quite possible that it would collapse at any moment.

Meanwhile, at the hooves of Supply Route, the green unicorn weakly said "Help me."

[RCgothic]

Stellar flies back towards the bar.

[DigoDragon]

"Addawsa? I don't want to point out the obvious so just scream if you need a hoof getting out!"

[Pokonic]

Stellar flies back towards the bar.

Absolutely nothing happened during her flight!

Well, the green pony who was bleeding on the ground did whimper a little when she got closer to the bar, but Stellar wouldn't be the one to notice that.


"Addawsa? I don't want to point out the obvious so just scream if you need a hoof getting out!"

Inside the bar, as Jinx could tell, the camel very carefully stepped over toppled chairs and tables as he made his way towards the door, but paused before he was even halfway near it.

"Oh, little ponies, you can go first." he said, not unreasonably.

[RCgothic]

Stellar pulls up short as she notes the minigunner, bleeding unicorn, and the carnage caused to the front of the bar, hovering at roof level above the scene.

"Couldn't find our sneak," she calls out. "Did a little recon of the firefight. Everything okay down there?"

[Forum Explorer]

Supply Route finishes off the wounded unicorn in one swift stroke, before heading to the collapsed building. Is everyone alright in there?

[DigoDragon]

"Everything okay down there?"

"We're fine, we're all fine," Doc mentions. He then watches Supply Route gank the unicorn. "Everyone that matters is fine. Remodeling the shanty a bit. How are you?"

Doc goes to check if the ex-unicorn had anything useful on 'em.

[Pokonic]

Doc goes to check if the ex-unicorn had anything useful on 'em.

The ex-unicorn mare's suit had a large purse-pocket on the right side, containing three small plastic baggies containing granules of an dark, crystalline material and two others containing a smattering of gold bits. Additionally, there was a small grey notebook with a clasp on it, but it seemed to be locked tight.

The suit also seemed to be made of some sort of lightweight mesh-fiber stuff that was smooth to the touch, but there was a zipper on it and now was hardly the time for unzipping cloths off corpses!

[Forum Explorer]

If everyone is okay then let's get moving. There's a pony with a very large gun overlooking us, and I'd rather not give him an easy shot if he takes offense to me killing the unicorn.

[DigoDragon]

Doc takes the three baggies and notebook, then follows Supply's advice to hoof it out of there before everything came crashing down around his ears.

[RCgothic]

"Was that really necessary?" Stellas asks, unsettled by the casual way Supply route finished off the defenceless mare. She had been wary of the pony with the big gun, but as he seems not to be paying much attention to the party or the dead unicorn Stellar descends to a more reasonable height.

"Go where? The streets seem pretty dangerous right now. The main fight's taking place over there where there's a small but well-armed group holding a tall house against a mob of thirty plus with barely any firearms. One of the ponies on the roof said only that they'd been found out and asked me to fight the mob single-hoofed. I asked the mob what was up and a griffin tried to kill me. I'm not sure it's something we should get involved in." The blood dripping from her wingblades with each flap is barely distinguishable from water in the dark.

[Forum Explorer]

Agreed. Let's just hole up in one of these ruins until things settle down. Supply Route says, grabbing her bedroll.

[Pokonic]

The bar, for all it's injuries and seeing one end of civilization, had a good run, and as it slowly creaked over to the right, signaling it's last moments of existence...

It stopped quite suddenly with a creak, and the old corpse of a building stabilized entirely, quite possibly just to spite another generation of homeless four legged creatures.

While the interior was smashed and the entire bar side of the bar was a caved-in ruin, it didn't seem like it was going to collapse into itself at the moment.

Addawsa, for the two that could see his face, looked quite embarrassed about the whole thing.

[DigoDragon]

"Well ain't you just a lucky horseshoe," Doc said to Addawsa with a smile. He quickly retrieved his things. "Alright, I like supply's idea. Let's put some distance between us and the block-party to hole up somewhere else for the night. Definitely need watches."

[Ravian]

Chiseled gives a strange glance at the camel. "That pony appeared quite upset about the possibility you might be here with us. Was there something that might have caused distrust between the two of you?

[Pokonic]

Addawsa stepped gingerly out of the alleged bar, and paused when he saw the cooling corpse.

"Oh, dear, that... that is Olive Leaf." the camel said, sounding slightly mortified, looking at the corpse as if it would spring alive at any moment, "Oh no."

The camel looked as if he was going to say 'Oh' again, as if it was a expression in itself, but just opted to stand quiet still for a few moments.

"She was a dear friend of mine." he stated curtly with his head hung low, seemingly unwilling to continue.

[DigoDragon]

"She was a dear friend of mine." he stated curtly with his head hung low, seemingly unwilling to continue.

"See seemed pretty upset about us being here. Thought we were tangled up as part of that riot going on over there," Doc explained. "Not that I don't believe you. I'm sure she was an alright gal. She just seemed intent on offing us. She succeeded with the bar anyway."

[Colonel Fedora]

This was so awful. Noise wanted to scream or run away, but she was frozen in shock. She looked at Addasawa and desperately searched for something to say.

"She was... " Noise stopped and took a deep breath "I tried to-" that wouldn't work either. "I'm sorry" she said, betraying her distress with a crack in her voice.

And they were still stuck in the middle of a fight.

[Forum Explorer]

She did seem to know you were in here. But she made no demands, and didn't believe us when we said we meant no harm. It's an all too common tragedy these days. and one that could have been easily avoided if you had all just stayed in the house like I told you to. Supply added silently, not wanting to heap on the guilt that Joyous Noise was clearly feeling.

[RCgothic]

Stellar drops out of the air at the shocking revelation, before hurrying to the unicorn's side to see if anything can be done. Clearly futile, Stellar closes the mare's eyes with a wingtip.

"I think you'd better explain exactly how this happened," she tells Doc and Supply Route, the two who seem to be most coherent about what went down. Her tone is not accusatory, she just thinks it's important for Addawsa to hear the full story. "Let's start from the beginning. When I flew out there was nopony around, so I went to scout the fight. What happened after that?"

[DigoDragon]

"Well, I went to the front door, looking to see what the commotion was about outside," Doc explained. "After a short debate with my compadres, I was under the impresson we could ask someone local what the frakas was all about. I holstered my gun and stepped out with just that intention. That's when Olive Leaf jumped down from her hiding spot and demanded to know what I was all about."

Doc gestured at the spots they were standing. "I explained that I was just curious to know what the party was for out there, to which Olive threatened to put me six feet under if I did come straight. Now, I told her I was only asking a question and that's the truth of the matter. I weren't in the mood for fighting no pony tonight, but apparently Olive was high-strung on something 'cause she weren't listening to reason." He pointed to where Olive's spell hit the building.

[DigoDragon]

"So, the next part happened rather quick," Doc continued, "But as far as I reckon, Olive attempted to fry me with magic, Supply jumped in and hit Olive first in my defense, and Olive's errant spell hit the bar, nearly taking y'all out inside it."

He took a quick breath. "I doubt Supply meant to hit Olive so hard. In the heat of a fight, it can be hard to hold back, you know? At least it doesn't seem that she suffered long. I just... I dunno, I don't understand why Olive suddenly turned so agressive, though... hang on..."

Doc pulled out the bag with the dark, crystalline granules and the small grey notebook. He held them out for Addawsa. "Olive was carrying this on her. Since you're a merchant savvy with a plethora of goods, I picked it up on the off chance you'd readily recognize it. She also had this notebook with her. If she's a close friend of yours, perhaps it be best in your keep. Might have answers on what she was up too."

[Pokonic]

Doc pulled out the bag with the dark, crystalline granules and the small grey notebook. He held them out for Addawsa. "Olive was carrying this on her. Since you're a merchant savvy with a plethora of goods, I picked it up on the off chance you'd readily recognize it. She also had this notebook with her. If she's a close friend of yours, perhaps it be best in your keep. Might have answers on what she was up too."

The shaggy camel, after nodding at Stellars gesture of respect, looked at the doctor stoically. With his head raised and out of the cramped confineds of the bar, the camel's size was more apparent then ever.

When he lowered his head down, it quite resembled an adult talking to a stubby-legged foal. In this case, the doctor was the foal.

"Olive Leaf, for all her follies, was a good pony who was here to negotiate with the town Humble in order to convince the drug lord who runs it to produce Med-X for the cause of her mistress, as apposed to the Rage he sells for the south." the camel said quite slowly, making sure to round out every syllable of every word he said. "As it seems that diplomatic negotiations will not be an option today, I would have no doubt she was afraid that I was in danger from the group of armed ponies who I was unfamilar with."

"Keep what you took from her body, if you wish, but as a friend of her sister and employer, I would hope you would have the honor, as her slayers, to accompany me to where she will be morned."

[Colonel Fedora]

The shaggy camel, after nodding at Stellars gesture of respect, looked at the doctor stoically. With his head raised and out of the cramped confineds of the bar, the camel's size was more apparent then ever.

When he lowered his head down, it quite resembled an adult talking to a stubby-legged foal. In this case, the doctor was the foal.

"Olive Leaf, for all her follies, was a good pony who was here to negotiate with the town Humble in order to convince the drug lord who runs it to produce Med-X for the cause of her mistress, as apposed to the Rage he sells for the south." the camel said quite slowly, making sure to round out every syllable of every word he said. "As it seems that diplomatic negotiations will not be an option today, I would have no doubt she was afraid that I was in danger from the group of armed ponies who I was unfamilar with."

"Keep what you took from her body, if you wish, but as a friend of her sister and employer, I would hope you would have the honor, as her slayers, to accompany me to where she will be morned."

Noise simply nodded along dumbly to what the camel said. She would mourn with him. That was why she had come up here, after all.

She knew, in her heart of hearts, that there would be a lot more mourning before this was over.

[Forum Explorer]

Supply Route simply nods and sticks with the others.

[DigoDragon]

Boy did 'slayers' sound like a harsh word. After all, it was simply a case of poor communication kills. Though, accompanying him to the funeral? Doc wasn't sure how well that would go if Olive's sister were there with the knowledge of what occurred.

He turned to Chisel. "What do you think?"

[RCgothic]

"That's Black Dust!" Stellar announces at the sight of the drug bags. The drug is well known locally for granting unicorns both great power and great paranoia, though she's tactful enough not to say so.

"I'm very sorry about your friend," she tells Addawsa, reaching up with a wing to touch his shoulder. "Of course I'll accompany you. And I wouldn't dream of taking any of her possessions. We should turn them over to her family. Will you need help moving her?"

[Ravian]

Boy did 'slayers' sound like a harsh word. After all, it was simply a case of poor communication kills. Though, accompanying him to the funeral? Doc wasn't sure how well that would go if Olive's sister were there with the knowledge of what occurred.

He turned to Chisel. "What do you think?"

Chiseled nodded
"It was my suggestion that brought conflict between us. I feel I am partly at blame and will personally burn her corpse for the light to receive."

[DigoDragon]

Doc looked at the bag inquisitively. "Oookay then," he muttered, being a little more careful with it now. He put the bag and book in a better pocket to keep it safe. "So, if we're to attend the funeral, where may that be at?"

[Pokonic]

"That's Black Dust!" Stellar announces at the sight of the drug bags. The drug is well known locally for granting unicorns both great power and great paranoia, though she's tactful enough not to say so.

"I'm very sorry about your friend," she tells Addawsa, reaching up with a wing to touch his shoulder. "Of course I'll accompany you. And I wouldn't dream of taking any of her possessions. We should turn them over to her family. Will you need help moving her?"

The camel looked unnerved by the touch of the wing, but said nothing regarding that.

"Oh, no, I wouldn't ask you to carry her body. Also, I wouldn't ask you to carry it anyway; I myself will bear it to where she will be buried."

He gives a quick, distrustful look in Supply Route's direction.


Chiseled nodded
"It was my suggestion that brought conflict between us. I feel I am partly at blame and will personally burn her corpse for the light to receive."

The camel stared at Chiseled blankly.

"You would be quite welcome to burn any goats you come across, I would think, but I would imagine that she would prefer to be buried, like every other individual pony in her line has been."



Doc looked at the bag inquisitively. "Oookay then," he muttered, being a little more careful with it now. He put the bag and book in a better pocket to keep it safe. "So, if we're to attend the funeral, where may that be at?"

The camel raised his head a bit higher than before when the doctor raised his question, as if to look down at him easier.

"That is a thing of importance." Addawsa admitted, "Olive Leaf's mistress was the Sultana Sari, and she was here for the reasons I have already stated. However, her sister would be highly interested in being present at the funeral, and would presumably wish to hold it near her own dwelling."

The camel lowered his head.

"Luckily, they are quite close together and are little more then a day's travel from here."

[RCgothic]

Stellar hastily withdraws her wing, chastened Addawsa's reaction and suddenly remembering her griffin-blood coated wingblades, although luckily most of it has dripped off by now. She nods in acquiescence to the camel's wishes before hanging her head slightly and trotting over to stand next to Joyous Noise.

[Forum Explorer]

Supply Route gives Addawsa a pained smile, one that says how sorry she is for his loss and that she understands if Addawsa hates her.

[DigoDragon]

"Just over a day eh? I reckon that shouldn't be difficult." He let off a yawn. "Though I'd like to ask if we could start looking for a bit of shelter. Going without rest is sorta like being drunk without the enjoyment."

[Pokonic]

"Just over a day eh? I reckon that shouldn't be difficult." He let off a yawn. "Though I'd like to ask if we could start looking for a bit of shelter. Going without rest is sorta like being drunk without the enjoyment."

Attawasa stared at the doctor for a few moments, seemingly baffled.

"You talk of drinking as if it is a...Oh, nevermind."

The camel shakes his big furry head disapprovingly, before gazing down at Olive Leaf's body.

"Oh, I would think it would be prudent for you all to get you're things out of the bar." the camel said slowly, as if he was thinking about something else, "I know of a shelter a quarter-hour's walk from here that would suit our needs without risking death from the violence nearby."

[DigoDragon]

"A fine idea Addawsa," Doc said. He went to get his stuff.

[Forum Explorer]

Very well. Supply Route had most of her stuff, and just needed her bedroll.

[Ravian]

Chiseled appeared confused "How will she receive blessing if her body is tied here?" he wondered aloud, before shaking his head at these strange customs and going to retrieve his meager belongings.

[Colonel Fedora]

Noise's head shot up at the mention of belongings, and she realized how close her friends' gifts had been to destruction. She quickly broke away from Stellar and swooped over to make certain they were unharmed.

When she returned, she merely stood quietly, waiting for the others to finish getting their things.

[RCgothic]

Having collected her possessions earlier, Stellar merely waits for the others to be ready.

[Pokonic]

Nearby, the sounds of battle slowly died, and not a single glimmer of magic could be seen or the slightest sound of a bullet could be heard coming in their direction.

The camel, while the ponies were going in and out of the bar for their things, had placed the body of Olive Leaf in what looked curiously like a sleeping bag and placed it on his back, looking like just another part of the camel's wares.

"Follow me; the way we will be going shall be safe to sleep, but it is not in a place often patrolled by those who would think to be the law." the camel said amiably.

[DigoDragon]

"Sure thing," Doc said as he followed along.

[RCgothic]

Stellar follows quietly, a little shaken by the melancholy turn taken by a promising evening.

[Forum Explorer]

Supply Route follows along of course, keeping her blade out and eyes peeled for any danger.

[Pokonic]

The route the camel took was an admittedly unconventional one; one through the dirty and dark streets that were not immediately adjacent to the moderately cleared path leading to Humble. It was a dirty and garbage-streaked route, but one that led away from the fighting good enough.

Eventually, the look of the old buildings in the dark changed from smaller singular houses to larger, more spaced-apart ones closer to the street. With the roads getting smaller, it wasn't hard to tell that this used to be some sort of business area.

All throughout the walk, the camel said nothing.

[Colonel Fedora]

Joyous Noise quietly followed along, hoping that this resting spot would not be attacked.

[DigoDragon]

Doc kept an eye and ear out in case something was watching them as they moved along.


Perception: 2 out of 7.

[Pokonic]

Doc kept an eye and ear out in case something was watching them as they moved along.


Perception: 2 out of 7.

The buildings they were passing by we just as abandoned as any other pre-war building aught to be, with broken glass and stained wood being the running themes. The streets, while dirty, didn't seem to harbor anything suspicious, and the only noises around were coming from the sound of hooves hitting the ground.

[RCgothic]

Stellar continues to hover along at shoulder height in silence.

[Forum Explorer]

There's a good solid silence going and Supply Route is not the pony to break it as she walks along.

[Mechanix]

It had been one hell of a night. And all Jinx had been doing was staying inside the shack, not knowing what to do, hoping that things would solve themselves. Truth was, she had been too afraid to go out - not afraid to be hurt, but afraid to make things even worse. She was born lucky, and she didn't really believe she could come to any lasting harm; but around her things went wrong, shots went astray, things blasted. And now someone was dead and she had done nothing to help. It was terribly sad; so much it even put a damper on her eternally cheerful mood.

So now it came to reason that it was her duty to break the silence and keep everyone from wallowing forever in their own sorrow. At first she wanted to distract everyone by talking about some random, harmless subject in their surroundings, but the whole place turned out to be pretty dull indeed. So she choose a different approach.

"Where I come from," she said with a warm cheerful voice at odds with the subject of her speech, "we cannot bury the dead; there is not enough room in the Stable. Instead we have a great machine, a furnace of sorts, into which we place our lost, and it turns them into sparks and cinders; some say that their souls remain in the fire as flame-spirits, and that they forever bring warmth and energy to our stable so that we may live. Up north, in other lands where I couldn't stay long because it was too cold, they do not have enough wood to burn and the ground is too hard to plow, so they carry their lost ones up, up the stairs of the mountain, onto these barren peaks, and there the vultures come to take them away; they respect the vultures very much, as they are their morticians and undertakers, and because they ward off the Windigos who sometimes try to steal the lost ones and do... who knows what with them."

"I don't know how people bury the dead here, or why; but if we knew and understood that, perhaps we would know and understand the people here better as well! What will happen to your friend, Atta? And what will happen to you someday?"

[Pokonic]

It had been one hell of a night. And all Jinx had been doing was staying inside the shack, not knowing what to do, hoping that things would solve themselves. Truth was, she had been too afraid to go out - not afraid to be hurt, but afraid to make things even worse. She was born lucky, and she didn't really believe she could come to any lasting harm; but around her things went wrong, shots went astray, things blasted. And now someone was dead and she had done nothing to help. It was terribly sad; so much it even put a damper on her eternally cheerful mood.

So now it came to reason that it was her duty to break the silence and keep everyone from wallowing forever in their own sorrow. At first she wanted to distract everyone by talking about some random, harmless subject in their surroundings, but the whole place turned out to be pretty dull indeed. So she choose a different approach.

"Where I come from," she said with a warm cheerful voice at odds with the subject of her speech, "we cannot bury the dead; there is not enough room in the Stable. Instead we have a great machine, a furnace of sorts, into which we place our lost, and it turns them into sparks and cinders; some say that their souls remain in the fire as flame-spirits, and that they forever bring warmth and energy to our stable so that we may live. Up north, in other lands where I couldn't stay long because it was too cold, they do not have enough wood to burn and the ground is too hard to plow, so they carry their lost ones up, up the stairs of the mountain, onto these barren peaks, and there the vultures come to take them away; they respect the vultures very much, as they are their morticians and undertakers, and because they ward off the Windigos who sometimes try to steal the lost ones and do... who knows what with them."

"I don't know how people bury the dead here, or why; but if we knew and understood that, perhaps we would know and understand the people here better as well! What will happen to your friend, Atta? And what will happen to you someday?"

The camel slowed his pace down ever so slightly until he was moving at a leisurely speed.

"Oh, it is a matter of who wishes to bury her, but the method will be the same. She will be cleaned to a respectable condition, so there will be no wounds on her body, or blood or dust or dirt. The wound will be sealed shut, and she will be wrapped in clean cloth, and then be buried in a place where the sun will touch the grave. After it is confirmed that she is in the ground, then the mourning will begin. It is how I would be buried, and how most of the individuals I know would be buried as well, lest they or I die in some forgotten place where none can do the rites. "

The camel increased his pace.

"The only ones I do not believe that would do so are the goats and their kind. Oh, they practice something like your kin do; they build great pyres to place their dead to roast, after removing them of their hide and fur and skulls, to make trophies and tokens and trade goods. I have absolutely no idea why they do this. Perhaps they like to watch fire burn."

The camel paused, and kept his pace evenly.

"Please do not call me Atta."

[RCgothic]

"Personally I'm all for cremation or magical disintegration," Stellar mutters. Then she speaks up as she clarifies, hoping she hadn't caused any offense: "It's just more hygenic, and doesn't leave any opportunity for the the wasteland to tamper with the body. Even in death the wasteland can be cruel."

[Ravian]

Chiseled nodded at these statements, finally some sense!
"Exactly, to be free of these attachments of the wastes and be consumed by radiant flame is to grow closer to the Light. To keep them among you buried from splendor, it almost seems cruel."

[Pokonic]

The camel seemed to shrug, but it was hard to tell giving the amount of things on his back.

"That seems like a wasteful thing. There is nothing wrong with a proper burial, in one does it properly. Perhaps others might take comfort in a burning, but I would rather not be a pile of ash."

The camel paused, yet again.

"We are quite close now."

[Colonel Fedora]

"It really doesn't matter what you do with the body, so long as you keep their memory alive."

Noise had been thinking about this a lot, lately.

[RCgothic]

Stellar gives Joyous Noise the first genuine smile she's felt since before the stealthed intruder. "I think that's very wise."

[Colonel Fedora]

Noise would have blushed right then, had her blood still been moving around. As it was, she simply gave an appreciative smile.

The smile faded from her face as it turned toward the newest addition to the camel's cargo.

I wonder what memories she'll leave behind, Noise thought.

[Mechanix]

"We're close? Sweet!" The little red pony started hopping, as if she couldn't contain herself with impatience. Indeed, the road had been long and dull, and the only topic of conversation much too serious, though that was her own fault. She darted ahead of the group, impatient to see what laid ahead of them.

[DigoDragon]

"It really doesn't matter what you do with the body, so long as you keep their memory alive."

"Organ donation is a viable option. Giving the gift of life in death."

[Pokonic]

"Organ donation is a viable option. Giving the gift of life in death."

Attawasa let out an uncharacteristic snort.

"To who and what? To treat a body, alive or dead, as another commodity to be bought or sold; oh, tell me, what makes one's wishes negiated if one leaves the mortal coil?"

The camel paused and turned sharply to the side, jarringly so, big hooves hitting the ground loudly and cargo swaying on his back, looking like to fall off at any moment. Quite suddenly, the big camel looked downright threatening.

"Tell me, little pony, what am I to say about the murder of Olive Leaf?" the camel hissed, which was a sound akin to a hydraulic vent breaking, "That she died as she wanted to? I am not one to lie, Oh, I am not one to lie, but how is it I am supposed to say that she was killed in an attempt to save me, and that she was killed because of her fears that I was consorting with murderers? How am I supposed to say that she died fearing for my safety, within reason?"

[DigoDragon]

"I said nothing of the sort to put a price tag on a body," Doc retorted, "Nor am I implying the validity of denial to anyone's wishes. I only stated that the belief to willingly give the contents of one's body after death is a perfectly reasonable one. If someone wants to deny the dead their due, well that's a problem, yes. But I'm a doctor, not a philosopher. I don't argue one's faith of what becomes of their remains. For that, ask a priest."

He pointed to Olive's body. "As for your friend, what is it you want? An apology? An answer? She threatened to kill me despite my best efforts to explain that I was not a lick of trouble. She didn't buy it and attacked. Supply made a snap decision and came to my defense. Would it make you happy if instead Olive killed an innocent surgeon just because he stepped out of the same building you were in? Olive's actions were her own and her death was no more deliberate than the wasteland breeze knocking a leaf off a tree. It's a tragedy and it sucks, I get it, but quit pointing hooves like she was an innocent filly. Her actions had intent and the result is just the unfortunate damn consequences of those actions."

Doc pushed his glasses up the bridge of his snout. "Maybe if more folks realized that, we wouldn't have a wasteland."

[Forum Explorer]

Funerals are for the living, not the dead. Say whatever will bring you or her other friends comfort. Supply Route says.

[Pokonic]

The camel took in the doctor's words calmly, but as Supply Route spoke he let out a snort of disapproval.

"Perhaps. Perhaps I shall lie to everyone I meet, as my reputation is of no importance and all that matters is that everyone is happy."

[RCgothic]

Stellar appears distressed by the direction the conversation is taking.

"No, don't lie for us! If you must lie to spare her family's feelings then do it for that reason, not for our benefit. It was a terrible misunderstanding and I won't hide from that."

Then more quietly: "Are you sure you want us here? If it will make things more difficult..."

[Forum Explorer]

Or perhaps-never mind. Say whatever you wish.

[Pokonic]

Stellar appears distressed by the direction the conversation is taking.

"No, don't lie for us! If you must lie to spare her family's feelings then do it for that reason, not for our benefit. It was a terrible misunderstanding and I won't hide from that."

Then more quietly: "Are you sure you want us here? If it will make things more difficult..."

"Little pony, do not fret." the camel said lowly, sounding almost a bit sad, "You are not to blame for Olive Leaf's life being...misjudged."

Attawasa spared a glance at Supply Route, and frowned.

[Forum Explorer]

Just say what you want to say already. Supply Route said, resigned.

[Pokonic]

Just say what you want to say already. Supply Route said, resigned.

Attawasa blinked.

"Olive Branch, Olive Leaf's sister, runs an orphanage in her sister's name. If you truly believe you are innocent of a crime, I would wish to see you stand in front of threescore children and explain why you believed that she was a threat, and why a sick foal will not be able to get the Med-X he needs to survive the month. "

[DigoDragon]

Some days it felt like those lost in the bombs were the lucky ones...

"Better yet," Doc interrupted, "Why don't we go and accomplish what Olive couldn't and get that Med-X for the children? As Attawasa pointed out earlier, negotiations weren't an option today for one pony, but perhaps a group can be more persuasive tomorrow?"

Doc cleared his through a bit. "That is, if that's okay with everyone else?"

[Forum Explorer]

Sure. I'll tell them how attacking a group of ponies who aren't offering violence is a bad idea and a stupid risk that leads to you dying and letting everypony down. At the very least make sure they are actually guilty of whatever crime you are accusing them of. Supply Route meets Attawasa's eyes evenly. Believe me when I say that I didn't want to kill her. I gave her every chance to back down, and if I made a mistake it was waiting as long as I did to act. As it is she almost managed to kill one of us with that spell of hers.


If Noise is fine with it, then so am I. Supply says, nodding to Doc.

[Colonel Fedora]

Joyous Noise looked up upon hearing her name. She hated being put on the spot like this.

"We owe it to those who depended on her."

It's not like she was short on time. Ghouls were supposed to live forever.

[Ravian]

Some days it felt like those lost in the bombs were the lucky ones...

"Better yet," Doc interrupted, "Why don't we go and accomplish what Olive couldn't and get that Med-X for the children? As Attawasa pointed out earlier, negotiations weren't an option today for one pony, but perhaps a group can be more persuasive tomorrow?"

Doc cleared his through a bit. "That is, if that's okay with everyone else?"

"This 'Meh-Dex'? It is an herb of some sort? Or a poultice? Either way if it will save the lives of those so young I would happily storm through the guns now to retrieve it."

[RCgothic]

An orphanage? Oh Celestia! No!

"It's a fortifying drug," Stellar explains to Chiseled Jaw with an anguished look. "But the med-X will be just the start! What happens when the next buck or filly needs a medicine? Can Olive Branch even cope without her sister? We have to make this ri-" No, not right. Nothing can make this right. Can't fix dead.

"We have to make this better..." she finishes quietly.

Then she begins taking off her wingblades, mechanically cleaning them with a rag before stowing them in her saddlebags with her gun. It won't do to appear before Olive Branch and the children wearing bloodied battle-gear.

[DigoDragon]

"I would happily storm through the guns now to retrieve it."

"Lets make that 'Plan D'," Doc said quietly. "I'd like to start with words as a Plan A, if that's alright? Somewhere between Plan B and C I think would be breaking and entering."

[Pokonic]

Attawasa waited and watched as the ponies chattered amongst themselves, and eventually simply turned and walked down the street until he came to moderate sized squat building, one floor but taking up a lot of the street. A worn burnt up half-a-sign declaring it to be the "-----or-to Com--- ---ter" sagged to the right of it.

"There is a room with food and insulation in here." the camel said, quietly.

[DigoDragon]

"I take it he knows this place?" Doc whispered to the other ponies.

[RCgothic]

"Seems like."

Stellar follows the camel up to the building and peeks inside.

[Colonel Fedora]

Noise silently followed her friends up to the building, vaguely hoping there would be half-decent bedding. Not that she was going to sleep much.

[DigoDragon]

Doc followed along. He stiffled a yawn as he reached the building.

[Pokonic]

The interior of the building is much like the exterior; dark, covered in broken glass, and vaguely moldering. The floor, while tile, is covered in debris of possibly organic mat of dead leaves and other, more questionable things.

Yet, the camel seemed to have a purpose in his steps, and calmly made his way to what probably used to be a doorway, ducking as he did.

[RCgothic]

Stellar looks at the debris on the floor with dismay, and then up as though she can see through the ceiling to the sky above. "I should have brought my cloud."

[Mechanix]

"Well duh. If I could carry a cloud with me, I would take it everywhere. It's just so much more convenient!" Jinx sniffed at the ground suspiciously, staring angrily at the decaying debris that littered it. "And yet somehow it's still an improvement over last night. So, Attawasa, is this our lodging for today? How far are we from our destination? And how do you know where all these places are! I'm amazed. Have you thought about writing, hm, maybe, a survival guide or sumthin'? Could be useful to people!"

[Pokonic]

"Well duh. If I could carry a cloud with me, I would take it everywhere. It's just so much more convenient!" Jinx sniffed at the ground suspiciously, staring angrily at the decaying debris that littered it. "And yet somehow it's still an improvement over last night. So, Attawasa, is this our lodging for today? How far are we from our destination? And how do you know where all these places are! I'm amazed. Have you thought about writing, hm, maybe, a survival guide or sumthin'? Could be useful to people!"

"Oh, this isn't a big building." the camel replied, hidden in the darkness of the hall, "And this place is simply used by some with the right knowledge as a resting spot. As it so happens, I am one of those people."

The camel paused for a moment, the sound of ponderous hooves hitting dank floor stopping a good indication that he stopped walking as well.

"I do believe there was a pony who was trying to make a tour guide for the city, a while ago, but I wouldn't think that a survival guide would be needed here. You make it sound as if this city is a uncivilized wilderness."

[Forum Explorer]

Very well. We should put a watch up regardless though. The fighting is far away but it'd be a stupid risk to assume it will remain far away. Since most of us don't know each other I suggest that we watch in pairs.

[DigoDragon]

Very well. We should put a watch up regardless though.

"That works for me. Pairs is a good idea."

[RCgothic]

"Well they're actually kind of a hoofful to move around if you might need to have your hooves free for anything else," I respond to Jinx's comment. "I'm not sure I want to risk another flight up to cloud level given the luck we've been having thus far.

"To be fair, our experiences of this city thus far have not demonstrated an overwhelming level of civility. A survival guide might not be such a bad idea," Stellar mutters half to herself.

[Pokonic]

"I have no strong feelings about it, honestly. This place is quite safe, but I understand if you wish to patrol it."

The camel made a quick left turn into a side-room, and after a few moments a flickering light came on from inside the room, which was slightly slanted inwards and had a drain pipe in the middle of it. It was a modest thing, in essence, but far cleaner than what the rest of the building seemed to be like. The single flickering bulb above revealed a room of mostly grey and whites, plaster and tile.

In the right corner of the room sat single table surrounded by cheap plastic chairs, a pack of cards and a pile of dusty bits laying in neat rubber-banded bundle off to the side of it. Above the table and centered in the corner was a mounted television set, a bulky old thing that was an elderly piece of equipment probably even before the war. A small kitchen-area sat across from the table, a small cutting board sitting alone and slightly stained.

Off to the center of the room, a small black portable refrigerator hummed lightly, and the pile of white butterfly-emblemed cases next to it looked just as pristine. A radio sat on the refrigerator, and another pack of cards sat on top of the small red book that laid on top of the mini-fridge.

The left of the room was quite bare. It was mostly taken up by two large windows and a door, as well as Attawasa, who was standing near the light switch.

In the light of the room, the camel looked positively huge, his huge hump closer to the ceiling then the floor and his neck looking as long as Jinx was probably tall. The pile of stuff on his back could probably have contained a family of four and the family dog for all intents and purposes.

"I myself have things I must attend to a mile or so from here as well. Please, make yourself at home here, there's food in that fridge. Just don't, oh, ah, break anything, please."

[RCgothic]

Stellar nods quietly, too emotionally drained to think of offering to escort the giant camel. She starts pacing around the room, looking for a comfy-ish place to curl up and collapse without losing too much dignity.

[Pokonic]

Stellar nods quietly, too emotionally drained to think of offering to escort the giant camel. She starts pacing around the room, looking for a comfy-ish place to curl up and collapse without losing too much dignity.

There is a small rack of fluffy towels sitting in the kitchens, looking as clean as any pre-war fabric could be.

The spot in the floor under the windows looked clear of debris, anyway.

[RCgothic]

For all Stellar knows the towels are the camel's property and wouldn't be impressed by her mussing them, so she curls up under the windows, makes herself as comfortable as possible with her head on her wing and falls immediately into a deep sleep. Hopefully the morning will bring a better day.

[Forum Explorer]

After setting up the watch schedule, Supply Route takes the first watch and begins patrolling the building, making sure she knew all possible entrance ways.

[DigoDragon]

Doc moves debris around and out of the way to make a nest. He drops his saddlebags down to use as pillows. "Alright, wake me when I'm due for watch or the building's on fire." He curls up and tries to get some sleep, keeping his revolver under his "pillow" just in case.

[Ravian]

Chiseled nods "I will aid you on the first watch." he said to Supply Route, finding a good spot to watch the main entrance.

[Pokonic]

As the tired ponies went their ways, Attawasa exited the building the same way he came.


After setting up the watch schedule, Supply Route takes the first watch and begins patrolling the building, making sure she knew all possible entrance ways.

Chiseled nods "I will aid you on the first watch." he said to Supply Route, finding a good spot to watch the main entrance.

There was, in fact, only ways to enter the community center, of which the most obvious one was the front entrance.

The second one was on the opposite end of the building, through what used to be a small parking lot for wagons and such.

There were plenty of broken windows any ambitious pony could probably wiggle through, but otherwise the building's exterior was pretty damn boring.

[Colonel Fedora]

Noise was silent as they entered the building. When Attawasa left, she flopped herself down on the pile of towels and tried desperately to sleep.

She suspected that tomorrow wasn't going to be any easier.

[Pokonic]

In the darkness of the room, in the middle of the night, nothing was wrong.

The ponies who were asleep were asleep, and the ponies who took it upon themselves to guard the other ponies would find themselves very bored.

In fact, the only issue in the room's hospitality was that the television set was starting to make a strange hissing noise, akin to boiling water.

[Forum Explorer]

Supply Route goes over and unplugs the television. I don't know why anypony would even bother to plug one of those things in.

[Pokonic]

Supply Route goes over and unplugs the television. I don't know why anypony would even bother to plug one of those things in.

The unplugged television quietly turns off, as nature intended.

However, after a few seconds of it being unplugged, the television, unnaturally, turned back on for a few seconds. A brief, cheerful garbled sound uttered from the televisions speaker, accompanied by a flickering image on the monitor.

http://i61.tinypic.com/2mmwpc5.png

After the image faded from the screen and the jingle stopped playing, the television stopped working, as televisions were supposed to.

[Ravian]

Chiseled gave a start when the image flashed on the screen "The box, is it possessed? he asked fearfully, for clearly the visage of the pony he had just seen was that of some form of tortured spirit.

Perhaps he was right...